Coded Bonds
by twilit angel
Summary: Vanitas had lived through two lifetimes where he struggled to find himself. After journeying across multiple worlds, he had triumphed over many obstacles and had regained his true name and memories once again. All seems well except he is still in a body not his own and carries a weight on his heart concerning his future...Full summary inside.
1. A Daily Routine

**Summary: Once a boy named Arun, Vanitas had lived through two lifetimes where he struggled to find himself. After journeying across multiple worlds, he had triumphed over many obstacles and had regained his true name and memories once again. All seems well except he is still in a body not his own and he carries a weight on his heart concerning his future. When King Mickey calls upon Arty to assist him in restoring a journal with missing entries Vanitas will discover that his future lies within the past. He had given up his quest to find Kingdom Hearts all for the sake of his friends, so his future is uncertain. He will need to visit Sora's first journey and rediscover what he was meant to do and perhaps discover there are deeper connections that need to be remembered.**

 **Disclaimer for all chapters: I do not own either Square Enix characters or Disney characters. I own only original characters.**

Chapter 1

Vanitas was sure he was in some kind of hell.

He sat in a chair in Merlin's house listening to the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee (formerly called the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee) argue about flower placements. The committee were having their weekly meeting, which explained while all eight members were there. They were seated in mismatched chairs at the stone dias. They were a tight squeeze given they were all there. He was sure he was the single person bored by it all.

Who would have thought two weeks ago Vanitas and his friends had taken on an evil group of Nobodies-Organization XIII-and he had discovered his true self again? His entire life at the tender age of six again? His entire life at the tender age of six he was an orphan that had no recollection of who he was. Now he knew his life and wondered if it was for the best. Two weeks ago his name had been Arun. At the present time he preferred for everyone but his closest friends to call him Vanitas.

It was all a mind fuck.

He drummed his fingers on the table, uncaring if it projected his boredom. In one ear went an argument about why they should open up the castle to the public that never went out the other. It was so boring! He could be doing better things like kicking Heartless butt! But, no. Because he was weak against a fifteen year old girl, he was stuck in some boring meeting.

"Arun?" Vanitas snapped out of his daze. He turned to his friend, Arty. She gave him an exasperated smile. "Meeting's over. We can go now."

True to her words, the members got out of their chairs. Leon and Yuffie left the house to go on their patrols. Aerith also left to go shopping while Cid went to the computer to start a new project at Ansem's office. Merlin even left gather some ingredients he needed for a new potion.

"Oh. Did we get anything done?"

"Not really," Caelum yawned on his other side. He stretched his arms above his head, relaxing in his seat in relief. "It's the same old, same old. We never get anything done past assigning patrol routes."

"It's not that bad," Arty said, contradicting what he said. "We have an important role in town. After all, it's our first priority. It's not like we can go out and save worlds."

"I know. All you've done is help destroy one," Vanitas teased. He referred to how Arty had willing went with them to take down the Organization's home base.

Arty pouted.

"I don't like destroying worlds. It just sometimes happens."

"You've got issues, Arty."

"Shut up."

Two weeks ago, during the dark point in his life, Vanitas thought it would be impossible to go back to the innocent days they once had when they lived in Meryton. They still happened, but they were few and far between. How could he enjoy those days when every time he looked at a mirror he was reminded of his past?

Vanitas remembered his entire life again since that happened. After defeating his 'Nobody' that turned out to be his inner darkness made corporeal, he took the time for self-reflection. One thing he knew was how he despised the face he wore and how much wanted his own heart. He didn't want to be associated with Ventus at all.

Except he had no choice but to. He had no body to begin with.

 _When the Heartless took my heart the body I had disappeared_ , he thought, sighing. That body was made real due to Sora lending him a little of his light. He was able to make a life for himself as long as he had his true self locked deep inside his heart. That normal life was all thanks to Sora's light. But, having lost his body (one that was originally made through sheer force of will and luck), he had nothing now. The small light he still held wasn't enough for him to create a new body, either. Of course, there was a way for him to regain his own body. However, that could lead to betraying all those he came to care for.

Betraying Arty and Caelum wasn't an option, so that idea was scrapped.

Who knew being ' _good'_ would mean the most difficult and least fun path for him to take?

Oh, well. As long as his friends were happy, he was content. For now, anyway.

Vanitas got out of his chair, Arty and Caelum copying him. Arty went to the computer console in Merlin's house nestled in the corner to oversee some new projects. As per their usual routines, Vanitas and Caelum planned to head out to the Dark Depths, a cliff that overlooked the empty valley and oversaw Maleficent's old headquarters in the distance. They used that area to train more for Caelum's sake than his own.

Since the battle against Organization XIII, Caelum wished to train to fight the darkness more effectively. He saw how weak he was fighting the Nobodies. Training with Vanitas would help him become stronger. Vanita agreed on account of using his full powers again after eleven years.

Out of all his friends, he was the only one comfortable enough to use the darkness on a daily basis. Riku was the other one who could use the darkness as well, but he tried to not think about embracing it. One time he did proved how little control he had over it unlike Vanitas. So, he used what little darkness he had under his power to fight for the light. That left Riku as the perfect balance of light and darkness, both equal in his grasp. Vanitas, unfortunately, was nothing but darkness. He could never wield light as perfectly as the others. It suited him fine as he enjoyed using his dark powers.

"What are you going to do today?" Vanitas asked Arty, getting out of his chair.

"I think I'll be working on some side projects today," she replied. She sat back down at the computer. Picking up her satchel lying against the chair, she rummaged through it.

"Side projects? Isn't it bad enough you're working on upgrading the defense system as it is?" Caelum asked, exasperated. Vanitas was inclined to agree. The few weeks he lived in Radiant Garden he saw what was essentially Arty's daily routine. She spent most of her time working on the defense system that protected the town. Though Organization XIII was gone and Maleficent and her minion, Pete, had disappeared, Heartless popped up around the town like daisies. They had yet to vanish entirely and they were left to deal with them.

Seeing as how the Restoration Committee was so small in size, they needed to upgrade the system to accommodate their numbers. Needless to say it was still a hassle to deal with them.

"I know I'm busy as it is working on the Claymore, but I like to do stuff on the side. I get bored working on one thing for so long that I started doing some research on the side. Who knows? Maybe when I'm finished with my current side project you and Arun can have fun with it?"

"How so?"

"You know how we used to play at the arcade in Meryton after school?" Arty mentioned. The two boys nodded. Back in their hometown, there was an arcade there some of the kids went to after school. The three of them were no exception. When they had the money to spare they would spend a whole afternoon challenging one another at arcade games that were so old they belonged in a historical museum. They usually ended up playing for the highest score. "After finding out that it's possible to enter the computer systems, I got this idea to do what people in our world had struggled with: Virtual Reality."

"You've been trying to make it happen?" Vanitas asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I? I got the idea after I studied the mechanism that pulls physical objects into the digital space. I found it odd how it broke down the cells in the body into bits of data and code. After awhile of studying, I realized that doing it too many times can result in some...odd side-effects."

"How odd?"

"If you do one trip too many, your cells may mutate and you could possibly die." She winced as she said this. "It was also a waste of time to travel between the physical world and Tron's world, so I believed VR might be a safer option."

They nodded along to this. Vanitas, having been through the process of traveling between the computer system and the physical world, found it a better option.

"How does it work? Will it be like having a screen device strapped to your head and it'll sense your head movement and stuff?"

She shook her head.

"If I made it like that, I'd be more likely to hit someone. I was planning on trying something new." She reached into a box she had placed next to the computer console. From it, she took out a black bulky helmet with wires sticking out of it. There was a black plastic visor over the eyes. "I decided to try integrating the mind into a preloaded body. Using this helmet, it will scan the brain and nerves in order to send signals that mimic the five senses. It, essentially, fools the brain into moving in the virtual world rather than the real world. So, you're not using your body and it will be like you've fallen asleep while you're in the virtual world. And, because of how much it requires us to move around and fight in the virtual world, I had to make up a prototype game simulator like the kind you see in roleplaying games." She paused, and was suddenly very nervous. "Does...that make sense? I mean, it's just a prototype and all. I've managed to get the mind to integrate into the VR world, but I haven't worked out the kinks. Cid even had to help me come up with a decent processor, but it's still not the ideal one I think this needs. If it works, anyone can entered the datascape without physically leaving their body."

"It sounds complicated."

"I think that's a great idea," Caelum complimented, glaring at Vanitas out of the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah, great," he mumbled. While he did want to tell Arty maybe doing a Virtual Reality machine untested was a bad idea, the glint in her eyes when she got so passionate about her project was a sight to see. She shone while in her element, which was what he always admired about her. The way she got so enthusiastic about Gummi ships or when she spoke about Orion like he was a real person was so adorable.

 _And I'm done_ , he thought, running a hand through his spiky hair. This was bad. Why couldn't he stop thinking the words 'cute' or 'adorable' when it came to Arty? Ever since he fought his inner darkness, he was forced to acknowledge that, as his darkness told him, he had feelings deeper than friendship for his friend. He didn't know when or why, but he had formed something he was afraid to even think. It became apparent when he called her wearing the hairpins he gave her as perfect. These past few weeks, whenever they hung out together, he would get a bubbling feeling in his gut, his breath would shorten, and he always had to restrain himself from touching her in fear he would do something he would regret.

The second he remembered his true name Vanitas swore to himself he would stop living in denial. Unfortunately, this extended to his feelings for Arty. He accepted the fact he had these feelings for her, but he didn't know what to do with them. What was he supposed to know in this kind of situation? He never felt like this with anyone. Not like this, at least.

He let out a sigh. Why was this so complicated?

"Arun?" He was startled out of his stupor at his name. When he focused back to reality he did not expect a hand to be waving so close to his face. Glancing to the side, he found Caelum dropped his hand back to the table. His friend has his eyebrow raised at him. Arty was gone, sitting back at the computer console.

"Yeah? What's that look for?" It unsettled him how Caelum was looking at him like that.

Caelum considered him for a moment and looked like he was about to say something. Then, he paused.

"You're an idiot," he simply said.

Vantias flushed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you should stop ogling a certain someone or else I'll get Archimedes to peck your eyes out." Caelum stood from the table. "C'mon. We should get some training done before it gets dark."

Vanitas grumbled, silently wondering if Caelum knew he was starting to act weird when it came to Arty. Based on what he said, it was a possibility. He needed to start composing himself around her. He didn't want anyone else teasing him about how differently he looked at her.

The two prepared themselves for a long training session, grabbing extra Potions and Ethers they might need. It didn't take them long to do so and were ready to take off. They bid Arty goodbye when a resolute chime echoed from the computer console. Glancing at it, Arty rose an eyebrow.

"A message from Disney Castle?" Both Vanitas and Caelum stopped, intrigued. They hadn't heard from any of their Disney Town friends for ages. Arty pushed a button and on the screen a new window pulled up. It was a live video feed Chip and Dale, the royal engineers.

"Heya, Arty!" Dale, a brown haired chipmunk with a comically red nose, greeted exuberantly. "Long time no see!"

"Hi, Chip. Hi, Dale," she replied with no less the same enthusiasm. "How are you guys? Anything new going on?"

"You bet," said Chip. Unlike his brother, who began to chatter the daily routines going on in the castle, he went straight to business. "We were wonderin' if you could come over to the castle. We need your help with somethin'."

"What do you need help with?" Vanitas questioned, coming into the video frame. Caelum came up beside Arty, leaning sideways to give him all room on screen.

"Arun and Caelum are there, too! Good." Chip nodded in satisfaction. "Well, we were wonderin' if Arty could help analyze Jiminy's journal. Turns out his journal for Sora's first journey lost all of its entries for some reason. We didn't think nothin' of it till Jiminy found a message inside it."

"Do you mean that one journal? I remember Sora telling me about that," Arty hummed. "They also told me that after what happened in Hollow Bastion they fell asleep one night and suddenly woke up in Twilight Town's mansion where the computer lab was. They had no idea how they got there. They also found out a year had passed with no memory of what they did."

"I never heard about this," Caelum blurted out, perplexed. "I knew that they lost their memories, but I didn't know they had woken up in Twilight Town. How did they get there?"

Vanitas didn't know anything about this, so he kept quiet. He did want answers but decided to ask his questions later. Now wasn't the time. "What was the message in the journal?"

Chip brought up a picture of two images of paper. They were side-by-side on the screen."It was ' _Thank Namine_ ' and ' _Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it._ ' Doesn't make sense, does it?"

"What does that even mean?"

"That's why we're askin' ya if you can come over and help out analyzin' it," Dale asked once more.

Arty thought for a moment. "What do you plan on doing to analyze it?"

"We want to use a computer that'll digitize the entire journal and we'll be able to scan through the journal's code to see if we can see the problem. Me an' Chip know how to set everythin' up, so that's why we're askin' for your advice, too."

"We thought that you might want to take a look," Chip added.

"I don't see why not. I'm curious about what happened to the journal, too."

"Great! Then, we'll see ya soon!" Arty and the two chipmunks chatted a bit more about what items she might need to bring over. While she did that, Vanitas pondered on this information.

He was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. What kind of thing did they need Arty for? It was nice for her to bond with other engineers and collaborate on a new project. That didn't mean he wasn't curious about the whole thing. They said it had to do with some journal that archived Sora's first journey losing all of its entries. He wondered how digitizing the journal would help figure out the mystery?

Ah, well, he dismissed as he watched Arty bid goodbye to the chipmunks. As long as she had a good time, he was willing to push his paranoia away. He wanted her to have fun when traveling to other worlds.

The stories he heard about her told him that while she didn't travel much, the few times she went to other worlds weren't the best experiences she had-not like the ones he had on his journey, anyway. He wanted her to have at least one good memory she could look back on.

"So," said Arty, turning to her friends, "what's the verdict? Do you want to go visit Disney Castle?"

"You're going whether we say yes or no, right?" She nodded. "Then, I'm going. I'd feel more comfortable if I was nearby in case something happens. Plus, I want to see Max and Queen Minnie again."

It may have been two weeks since he saw Max, but he had gotten so used to him behind around he left a hole behind. He had gotten attached to Max and quickly considered him a close friend. Who knew multiple life threatening situations could make them bond so fast?

As for Queen Minnie, well...He had a soft spot for her. She was kind to him even though she didn't know him. Anyone like that was okay in his book.

Caelum shrugged. "I wouldn't mind visiting them. I can ask King Mickey for some training advice while we're there."

"You're complaining about me working too hard?" Arty teased, shutting down her computer. "Then, it's settled! Let's visit Disney Castle. I'll go tell Merlin. You guys head home and pack some stuff."

It was agreed and they separated to go do their own tasks before they left their world. None of them thought this task would take very long and it would be a pleasant visit.

They were sure things would be fine.

* * *

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Hello, everyone, and welcome to the sequel of _Heart and Soul!_**

 **I'm sorry for the wait, but I've had some complications. As you can see, I'm basing this on the next game in the timeline, _Re:Coded._ Boy, is this going to be fun! However, I said in an author's note in the previous story I would write a full outline for this story. However, I came to the realization that I can't plan anything out because I rely on my reviewers to help point out things as I go along. You, my readers, helped me see things in my story that I missed out on. I had planned about the first two worlds in the outline before I came to a standstill. I hit a writer's block and I didn't know what to do. It also turns out I do better under pressure when I remember I need to update soon. That's one of the reasons why I have no outline. So, yeah. Four months of waiting and all I have so far are two worlds.**

 **Sorry.**

 **I hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Please review!**


	2. Spirited Away

Chapter 2

The drive to Disney Town was peaceful. Traveling with Arty, neither Vanitas or Caelum wanted to bicker while she drove. It was a lot different from Max, who was semi-okay with their fighting. Although, he said it got old fast.

Because of the peacefulness, it did not take long for them to reach the world.

"Wow, so this is Chip and Dale's garage," said Arty as she stepped out of their Gummi ship. She took in the gears and machinery clinking away around, an ambient noise that was comforting for someone like her. "This place is a lot bigger in person. On the screen it looks so small."

"You usually see this place from a chipmunk's point of view," Caelum remarked. He came out behind her along with Vanitas."It's not like Chip and Dale are the biggest things in the world. Of course everything is going to be big."

"I know that. I'm still surprised about this. It's well-equipped."

"Sure it is. It has to be for King Mickey and Queen Minnie," said a squeaky voice.

The three of them tilted their heads down at their feet. It was there they noticed the two chestnut chipmunks wearing leather aprons-the two royal engineers, Chip and Dale.

"Hello! It's nice to finally meet you." Arty crouched and extended her hand. "Thank you for putting me up with my questions these past few weeks. People usually get annoyed after awhile."

"It's alright. I liked listening to your ideas," said the black nosed chipmunk, Chip. He put his tiny paws on Arty's finger and shook it like a hand.

"Besides, talkin' to you is a lot like talkin' to Prof. Von Drake," said his brother, Dale. His little red nose twitched as he beamed a goofy smile up at her.

"Who?" asked Caelum.

"He's this inventor I met the first time I came here," Vanitas answered. He began making his way up the stairs leading out of the underground garage. Everyone followed suit. "From what Max told me, he makes these crazy inventions for the castle and even created the Gummi ship system we use today."

"He did?" Arty gasped, awed.

"Yeah. But, don't believe Dale. You don't sound anything like him." Arty wasn't on the same level of zaniness that guy was on, thank goodness. She was still relatively grounded...for the most part.

"Aw, that's not what I meant." Chip somehow scurried on ahead along with Dale. They steered clear of their shoes. "I just thought the two of them love their work so much they're kinda the same, you know? They both talk really fast."

"I-I do not! I try to say too much at the same time," Arty protested.

Caelum chuckled. "Which means that you talk fast."

Vanitas smirked. When she got worked up about something she always spoke too fast for them to keep up. Over time, he learned how to tune it out.

They continued their way up the spiraling staircase. Arty got over her embarrassment and began to chat with the two chipmunks. To no one's surprise, it was mostly about Gummi Ships. She was passionate about her work. Chip and Dale humored her and answered all of her questions. Most of it went straight over Vanitas' head. Still, he found it comforting to listen to their words bouncing off the walls of the spacious staircase.

At the top he pushed open the double doors where he was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. As he stumbled out, he caught the scent of freshly cut grass and flora. Vision cleared, he stood in the unchanging courtyard of Disney Castle.

"Wow...This place is beautiful!" Arty exclaimed. She approached a topiary of the band animals, mesmerized.

"Looks better than Radiant Garden, huh?"

She nodded.

"I've seen pictures of what Radiant Garden used to look like before the Heartless. This garden kind of looks like what I imagined the town used to look like."

"It's close." What little of what he saw in the past Radiant Garden resembled the atmosphere of this garden had. It was too bad the town wasn't very beautiful anymore. It was the one thing he mourned about when he returned to the future.

Finished admiring the garden, they entered the castle, following a familiar path Vanitas and Caelum had traveled once in their journey. It was through the large open aired hallway that led to the king and queen's personal library. Chip and Dale took the path to the library.

At the door Vanitas opened the door to let the others in. He heard Mickey's voice talking to a somewhat softer one. It was hard to hear over Donald, Goofy, and Max asking questions. All talking stopped when they entered the room.

"Hello. Glad to see you fellas made it. Thanks for comin'," said Mickey. He sat behind his dark wood desk. He looked rather small in his chair. His knights and court wizard were gathered around it as well. He smiled at each of them, even Vanitas.

"Hi, your Majesty. Thank you for having us," Arty replied, always the polite one among them.

"Good to see you haven't killed each other yet," Max said, siding up to Vanitas. His grin was teasing and a sight for sore eyes.

"Why would you think that?" Vanitas asked.

"I thought with me gone you and Caelum would have strangled each other by now."

"We've managed before we met you and we're still alive today."

"I know, but who knows? You might relapse."

"You make us sound like drug addicts," Caelum said, amused.

"You guys are addicted to fighting. It's close enough."

"I second that," Arty giggled. "Anyway, it's good to see you, Max. Do you know why we're here?"

"We're tryin' to figure out why Jiminy's first journal's empty," Goofy answered, helpfully.

"Jiminy?" Vanitas had never heard that name before. Who were they talking about?

"That would be me."

It came from the desk. Around the strange computer device stepped out a tiny figure about the size of his thumb. Squinting, he peered closer to see it was a bug. It had big eyes that stared up at them and was dressed in a fine black tailcoat, matching trousers, and a blue silk top hat.

"Hi, there! The name's Jiminy Cricket," he introduced importantly. "I've kept a record of Sora's journeys. Sorry if I haven't shown myself to you and Caelum before now."

"Did you travel with Sora?"

"Yes, I did. I mostly stayed in Sora's hood to keep out of the way and still see everything myself. By the way, do you prefer bein' called Arun or Vanitas?"

"Vanitas," he replied, taken back. Nobody had ever asked him what he wanted to be called (barring Caelum, Arty, and Max. They were the exceptions). When people used his name they used the one he first introduced himself with. It got annoying when he wanted to be called Vanitas.

"Alright. I'll remember that." He pulled out a brown leather bound notebook and began to scribble away in it.

"Jiminy likes to update the journal entries," Goofy explained. "So for Vanitas' entry it'll say that name instead."

Vanitas could relate. Having kept his own journal during his journey, he had to keep updating information on the people around him.

"What did you mean that Jiminy's journal is empty?" Arty was the only one to remain on task.

"Remember how I've been taking notes since the moment Sora, Donald, and Goofy met?" asked Jiminy. She nodded. "Well, when we woke up a few weeks ago under the Twilight Town mansion we found out my journal was empty except for a single message. We, later on, found out a year had gone by and everyone forgot about us during that time."

"What do you mean everyone forgot?" Vanitas wondered.

"We literally forgot those three existed," said Caelum. "Whenever I tried to think about why Arty was upset and worked for Maleficent last year I knew she did it after meeting someone. I couldn't put my finger on who it was."

"I even forgot about Dad," Max added, visibly ashamed. He couldn't look at his father. "I knew I had a dad, but I didn't know who he was. It was a blank the entire time."

"It's alright, Maxie," Goofy reassured his son. "I know you didn't mean to forget about me. Somethin' strange made ya forget."

"What made you all forget?" Vanitas thought it was downright strange how those three were entirely forgotten for a year and then suddenly remembered. It had to have been magic at work.

"We don't know," Mickey answered. "We were hopin' to analyze the journal and its single message to find out what made it go blank. Actually, that's why we called you, Arty, to see if you can help out."

"Me?"

"Right. If anyone was really good with computers, it's you," Jiminy praised. "After all, you built the Keyhole in Radiant Garden all by yourself and you're pretty smart when it comes to them. Really, you're our best choice."

"It was either you or Prof. Von Drake," Donald mumbled, unappreciative.

"I was gonna ask you about that," Vanitas mentioned. They had a few people who were good with computers on their world as well. Why ask Arty?

"Arun, you've met the professor," Max replied. "Do you remember how you met him?"

He nodded.

"Of course I do. He crashed his machine into the..wall..." he trailed off.

"With something as delicate as Jiminy's journal do you think he's the best one for this?"

"Not that we're sayin' we don't trust him," Micky added. "The doc's inventions are amazing, really! It's just we don't need him to go overboard."

"Like changin' the motherboard," Dale provided.

"Or thinkin' the journal could be better off digitized," said Chip in the same effect.

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Arty grinned. "Alright. I'll help you guys. Just tell me what to do."

"Great! Come over here and we'll fill you in." Mickey gestured for them to come closer.

Arty and Caelum did so, but Vanitas was more hesitant. He didn't like to be near Mickey any longer than necessary. Their past couldn't be forgotten now that he remembered. He would always hold a grudge for Mickey's involvement in his initial demise.

So he settled for being at the edge hovering close to Max to have an easy escape and he could see the computer.

The computer on the desk was big and colorful to the point it looked more like a child's toy. It reminded Vanitas a lot of the Gummi ships in design-a large and bulky thing with some of the most advanced technology that ever existed. Attached to the large thing by a wire was a large glass cylinder with a laser pointing downward. Inside was another tiny leather bound book much like the one Jiminy had.

On the screen was a bunch of numbers and windows. Vanitas didn't know what to make of them. A few pictures popped up and he recognized them.

"Isn't that Sora's home world?" He pointed at the group of tropical islands in the middle of a calm, blue sea.

"And here's Traverse Town," said Caelum, pointing at a window with a dark town square. Most of the buildings were brick with neon signs hanging over shops. It was a place Vanitas had never seen.

"Are these all places Sora and you guys have visited?" Arty wondered, looking at the various pictures. She suddenly blushed at one. "You guys went to Atlantica?"

"You know that world?" Donald asked, surprised.

"Riku and I visited it back when we worked for Maleficent. It's where I found my bow." She held up her wrist. The bright silver transformable bracelet twinkled in the light.

"Does that mean you turned into a mermaid?" Goofy questioned out loud.

"Whoa, what? What kind of world has you turn into a mermaid?" Max asked as Arty's blush became apparent.

"An underwater one. Anyway, what's wrong here?" She pointed at the screen as it began to beep a hazardous red. As the windows popped up, an odd thing happened. The screen became filled with red and black blocks that covered the worlds.

"That's why we called you over," Mickey said. "Every time we try to analyze the journal this happens. We've got no way to get past it either."

"You think it's a virus causing it?"

"Maybe. We don't really know," Chip replied.

"Goofy said that you've got some program that could get rid of this quick," Dale said, peering up at her hopefully.

"You mean Orion?"

"Right!"

Arty hummed. She stared at the screen in quiet contemplation.

"I don't know. From the looks of it, if an outside source tries to analyze it, it won't work. Orion's good, but he's not that good. He wouldn't be able to get through this on his own."

"Then, what do you think we should do?" Donald asked, getting frustrated with the whole process.

"Yeah, it's not like you can just get someone inside to help you," Vanitas said sarcastically.

He was disturbed when Arty, Chip, and Dale's eyes lit up. An idea had struck them.

"That's it!" Chip exclaimed. "We could look for somebody already in the journal and ask them to explore the worlds to repair the data!"

"Exactly. And I know just the person to do it." Arty began to type away at the computer's keyboard as Chip and Dale chattered away at her elbows. It was clear to Vanitas they had gotten along quite well over the past few weeks.

Mickey suddenly laughed.

"Gosh, Arty. And here I thought you didn't like him."

"Like who?" Caelum asked.

"I don't, but he's the only one who will do as we say without asking questions," she said to Mickey.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Vanitas demanded. The four of them were ignoring them and keeping them out of the loop.

"Who do we know that'll help people out without even askin'?" Mickey asked with a slight laugh.

No one said anything to think about the question. Who did they all know that had a habit of helping people out selflessly?

The answer was obvious.

"Why, it's Sora!" Jiminy exclaimed. He laughed in delight alongside Goofy and Donald.

"You're gonna ask the data version of Sora to help us out?" Goofy snickered with a 'A-hyuck!'

"Wow, Arty. You sure you can handle dealing with a data Sora?" Max teased.

"I don't have a choice," Arty grumbled. "He'll be the Sora I met when this all started and that one was annoying. At least now he toned down around me."

"Arty, I thought you said you'd give him a chance," Vanitas warned. He thought after all that had happened, she would start acting friendlier to Sora.

"I am! It's not my fault I haven't seen him since we beat Xemnas. Maybe talking to this Sora will help give me some practice talking to the real thing?"

Caelum rolled his eyes.

"Of course. You'd rather talk to a data version rather than the actual person."

"Leave me alone! It's not my fault I can't talk to Sora."

Behind her back, everyone shared a look that said it all.

It was entirely her fault she couldn't talk to Sora over a stupid grudge.

"Alright, here we go," Arty suddenly said. "I've loaded up the entry that describes Sora receiving his Keyblade. We'll be able to give it to him earlier given the circumstances."

They looked towards the screen. It had changed to a full-screen video feed. On it a, familiar brown-haired boy floated down a black tunnel. At the bottom was a glass platform where a mural of a beautiful young girl biting into an apple in her hands.

"This is where Sora received his Keyblade?" asked Max.

"Yup! He told me about a dream he had right before he lost his world," Jiminy replied. "I didn't want to miss a single part of his adventure. This was where it all started."

Vanitas studied the scene. Sora landed on the platform where a mysterious voice was speaking to him. This was familiar to him as he had experienced the same thing a few weeks ago.

How similar are we? he wondered. Since he realized that Sora had shared some of his light, he pondered why they even had such a connection. He knew it was through Ventus, but how did they even meet? Why would Ventus take refuge with him? It was all so confusing.

What did this connection mean? It didn't bode well for him, that much was certain.

"We're in business!" Chip whooped. It forced Vanitas to stop thinking. "We're done rewriting Sora."

"Rewrite?"

"Yeah! We rigged it so he can use the Keyblade already," Dale explained.

"And now he'll unglitch the data for us," Arty finished.

There was a sudden alarm from the computer, which made everyone jump. They tried to find the source of the noise.

"Is something wrong?" Mickey asked over the noise.

"Could be somethin' gumming up the main system," Dale suggested.

"Wait here. We'll hop next door and have a look." Chip, along with his brother, scampered off the desk and out of the room.

"How long do you think they'll take? Vanitas asked, trying his best to ignore the noise and failing. It was quickly getting on his nerves.

"Not long. Why?" Max answered.

"I'm thinking of going to the kitchens and getting something to get."

"Of course. Why am I not surprised?" Caelum scoffed in good humor. "We're doing something important and all you can think about is food. You really haven't changed, have you?"

"Screw you! I'm a physically growing boy! I'm hungry!" It wasn't his fault he always wanted a snack. He burned a lot of energy fighting Heartless on a regular basis.

"I guess you do need food considering you haven't grown much."

"Guys!" Arty yelled before Vanitas could cuss him out. She gave them both a stern look. "You'd think traveling together for nearly a month would make you guys get along. You still fight like this."

"Arty, I'm never going to get along with this guy," said Vanitas, jerking at thumb at Caelum.

The mage scowled at him.

"If we got along, who'd deflate that massive ego of your's?"

"Someone better at it than you, that's for sure."

"You mean like Ventus?"

"Actually!" Max shouted as Vanitas was about to snap. "Arun, if you're getting a snack, maybe you can ask the penguins to bring us something? It looks like this will take awhile, so some snacks might be good."

"Yes, please! I'm a bit hungry, too," Arty heartily agreed. "Can you get me something, too? Take your time."

"You guys can stop trying to spare me my feelings," Vanitas snarked. Like Arty would admit she was hungry. She sometimes got so caught up in her work she would lie and say she wasn't hungry if it meant continue working. "Alright, I see I'm not wanted. I'll be back with some food."

"Thank you."

Vanitas waved them off as he made his way out of the room.

Disney Castle was the type of place Vanitas learned to memorize. The majestic, sprawling place was nothing but a maze. Various little hallways and doors made it possible for the servants to get around without ever being seen. It was so large interconnected he had to rely on his memory to get through the castle to the kitchens.

He hadn't realized that his memory might not have been the best when he suddenly ended up in an unknown area.

"Alright, where the hell am I?" Vanitas asked himself when he abruptly ended up in a hallway lined with portraits. There were no doors that he could see. The portraits and the occasional flower vase on a table were the only decorations. He had never seen this place before. "Please don't tell me I got lost. How stupid is that?"

He never thought it would be this easy to get lost. How many castles has he been in so far? Who knew that he would eventually lose his way in one? It didn't surprise him that it took this long for him to accidentally make a wrong turn. All those castles had blended their way into his memory to confuse him.

Honestly, getting lost was a good thing, Vanitas thought as he studied a few of the portraits. It was the first time he was truly alone. For the past few weeks, he had not been allowed a peaceful moment where he wasn't expected to battle or travel. Having lived alone for so long, he missed being allowed to lounge around to do whatever he wanted. He didn't have people knocking on his door unexpectantly or come bother him to do chores. While he didn't mind it when he started to live with Arty, Liam, and Caelum, he missed having some quiet time. He couldn't remember the last time he picked up his guitar.

As far as he could remember, it was the night before he had 'died.'

He should get back to that. That, and drawing was something he wanted to take up again. Vanitas was reminded of his hobby as he studied the portraits. They were well made, full of colors that the oil points captured. The subjects were all royal portraits-mousy kings and queens from various time periods. At one of the portraits, he thought he recognized Queen Minnie except she appeared noticeably younger. She stood in a large garden with a fountain behind her, a rose clasped in her gloved hands. It made her look much more innocent as the smile she had on her face was that of a maiden in love.

"Arun, is that you?"

Speak of the devil! Vanitas was joined by Queen Minnie, who had entered on the other end of the hall.

"Hi, Queen Minnie," he greeted without any malice. He was genuinely happy to see her. "How are you? It's been awhile."

"It has," she agreed. "I had no idea you were coming to visit."

"It was kind of a last minute thing. Mickey asked Arty to come help him with something and I decided to come along with Caelum."

"I see. But, why are you here by yourself?"

"I went to go get a snack, but I, uh, I got lost," he admitted, sheepishly.

Minnie giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"It's okay to admit it. This castle is easy to get lost in if you don't live here." She glanced at the painting he was studying. Vanitas noticed how much the young queen had changed from the time of the painting. Max told him that people from his world aged slower than other worlds, so many years must have passed. "Can I ask you a question, Arun? It's something about Max asked me about when your journey ended."

"What do you mean?"

"He asked me about whether I remember the Festival of Dreams from eleven years ago and its winners. I didn't, so I looked up the album that had a picture of one of the winners and their names. For one of them, I recognized him and remembered something Max told me back then."

Vanitas wondered why she was asking him about a festival from nearly a decade ago. Then, he suddenly remembered a very important event that happened in the past. As she stared with a knowing glint, he had a feeling she knew.

"Did we meet back then?"

Oh, gosh. She said it.

"If I say yes, are you going to tell Mickey. I won't ask why," she added when he tensed, "but I won't tell him about your trip to the past. It seems to make you uncomfortable."

"Yeah, I'd like if he didn't know about this." Vanitas didn't want that goody two shoes king to know he was clearly in the past and didn't do anything to change what might have happened. Mickey was going to hold it over him how he gave up his plans for his friends. A part of him was still beating himself up for not doing anything life changing in the past all for the sake of friendship. "Thanks, your Majesty. How come you won't tell him?"

"Why, I would never do that!" Queen Minnie was appalled at the mere mention of it. "That would be betraying your trust. And, even if you did fight him before, you're a kind young man. You may hide it, but I can tell beneath it all you have a good heart regardless of light or darkness."

Vanitas had no idea what to say to that. All he could do was smile slowly.

"Thanks, your Majesty. I appreciate it," he said, warm inside. Out of all the people to hear that type of thing from, it was nice to hear it from Queen Minnie. It was the same fuzzy feeling he got whenever Liam, Arty's father, praised him for his good behavior or good grades. Was this what it felt like to have a parent?

The feeling bloomed as her smile remained. Yup. It was.

"It's no problem, Vanitas. Now, would you like to join me for tea? I was about to meet with Daisy for our daily tea time."

"Are you going to have those finger sandwiches and cookies from last time?"

"Yes, if you'd like."

"Then, count me in."

Any mention of food and he was more than happy to attend girly tea parties.

Vanitas followed Queen Minnie down the hall, allowing himself to be subjected to a tea party. He had wanted to be alone, but it was good to be around different people every once in awhile.

* * *

xxx

* * *

After an hour of sipping tea and telling Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy tales about his journey, Vanitas was on his way back to the library. His belly was stuffed with multiple delicate finger sandwiches that were so delicious but never enough. The tea party was better than he had expected. Now that he did not need any food it was time to get back to work.

He made his way back to the library (after getting directions from Queen Minnie and had an enchanted broom as his guide), ready to watch Arty in her element. When he arrived he found the door was slightly ajar, yet there was no noise within. He wasn't sure what to make of that. He thought they would all be chattering up a storm, arguing and questioning the mysteries of the journal. Entering the room, he got his answer.

The library was empty. Where there was once seven people who stood around the desk there was no one. The only source of sound was the quiet whir of the computer's fan. He stared, dumbfounded. Where the heck was everyone? Please do not tell him they ditched him! It would be just like Caelum to get Arty and Max and leave him out of whatever fun they were having. Then again, it wouldn't make sense for Arty to leave any work she had to do on a computer. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy weren't the type to simply abandon important duties either. So where were they?

A single nagging voice in his head voiced its concerns.

What if something happened while I was gone?

In an instant, several worse case scenarios popped into his head. They had probably been kidnapped by Heartless for all he knew! Maleficent could have survived the encounter in the Nobody world and had come back to get her revenge on King Mickey and them all! In fact, that was most likely the case!

Vanitas took a deep break to calm down. No, he was being stupid. He shouldn't fly off the handle just yet. Yeah, everyone had suddenly vanished and he had no idea where they were. And, okay, he wanted to kill Mickey because he got his friends into possible trouble again. That really pissed him off.

Alright, he had a reason to fly off the handle!

He rubbed his temples to soothe his headache. Why was he not surprised they'd get into trouble during a simple visit? For once, couldn't they just enjoy visiting a world without getting dragged into its problems?

While Vanitas tried to calm himself, Chip and Dale ran into the room.

"Uh, hey, where'd everyone go?" Dale took a look at the empty room.

"Did they all go on a break or something?" Chip asked Vanitas, craning his neck up.

"I was hoping you'd tell me that. I went to go get something to eat and came back to find everyone gone." Vanitas let out a slow breathe. "Guys, what the hell is going on? What was that alarm earlier?"

"We're not sure. When we went to go check it out it stopped," he explained.

"We took a look and didn't find nothing wrong," Dale replied.

"Something must have been wrong if my friends vanished!"

Chip and Dale flinched at his sharp voice. He was far more stressed out over this than he should have been.

"We don't know what happened. But, maybe we can find a clue from the computer?" Chip ran up to the desk. At the keyboard, he jumped on the keys like a crazy game of hopscotch.

"How can that tell us where they went?" he asked, going behind the desk to look.

"They must've started working on analyzing the journal. So, let's see how far they've gotten." They continued to jump around. Every now and then they glanced at the screen to see what popped up. Vanitas did as well.

A window came into view. For a second they saw what Vanitas thought was a video feed of the library. It was an exact replica as if nothing was wrong. Everyone was gathered at the desk, watching the computer screen intently. If they strained their ears, they could hear Sora's voice come through.

"You think Sora will be alright?" Goofy asked, clasping his gloved hand to his mouth. "There sure are a lot of bugs he's gotta face."

"He'll be fine," Max reassured his father.

"Besides, he's working with the upgrades I gave him," said Arty. Unlike the rest of them watching the screen, she had her laptop on the desk. She had it connected to the larger computer system by a cord. "He's lucky that some of the stuff I had planned for my game could be transferred to him. Otherwise, we'd have more of an issue fighting those bugs."

"For once, your side projects were useful," Caelum chuckled. "I feel bad for giving you a hard time about doing too many things at once. Almost."

"We're really glad for that," Mickey added with a smile of his own.

"Even if you're an overachiever," Donald snickered. He stopped when Arty sent him a nasty glare.

That was all Vanitas, Chip, and Dale got to see.

"We can't get through," Chip bemoaned, sounding like he was about to panic. "There's too much interference from the virus and it won't let us search."

"But, that was them, wasn't it?" Vanitas had a feeling that was a live video stream they just watched. If that feeling was right, then this simple trip just got a whole lot more complicated.

"It sure looked like it," Dale agreed.

"I don't know how, but it sure looks like they got sucked into the computer. I didn't think they realize it either," said Chip, delivering the bad news.

Vanitas closed his eyes to count backward from twenty. As he counted down, the panic and sudden anger that sharply rose ebbed away.

"Okay. What do we do now?" he asked. He opened his eyes and looked to the chipmunks for answers.

The two shared a look. That wasn't encouraging in the slightest.

"We're not too sure. That virus is in the way," Chip slowly said. "If we had Sora or something like him, we might have reached through to'em. But Sora's helpin' them and there's no one left on the inside we can get."

Someone on the inside...Vanitas scowled. Arty said that, too. They needed someone on the inside to be able to get through the journal. Sora was the only one they could get as he was already a part of the journal, but his data was being used. Damn it! I wish I could go in there and help them out!

The second he thought that Arty's voice popped into his head.

"If it works, anyone can enter the datascape without physically leaving their body."

"Chip, Dale," he called as a bright but dangerous idea popped into his head, "can we use a model of Sora in the journal and control it from the outside?"

"Huh?" they echoed, incredulous.

"We can get the model, but we can't control it from here," Chip replied.

"We got no way to do that," Dale concurred.

"You don't. I do." Grinning, Vanitas whirled and ran for the library door.

"Where're you goin'?"

He opened the door, pausing long enough to shoot them his grin.

"I'm getting my friends back. To do that I need Prof. Von Drake's help."

"What do ya need him for?"

"I'm going to ask him to get me inside the journal."

He said no more. He ran down the hallway headed for the Gummi Garage. Vanitas wasn't the type to sit around while others were at work. He had to do something to help Arty, Caelum, and Max.

Even if he had to ask a mad scientist to put him in the journal.


	3. Ready Player One

Chapter 3

"Ohoh! Now, _this_ is a piece of work!" Prof. Von Drake exclaimed in delight. He circled the desk where the computer and journal scanner were. What he was really examining was the black helmet Arty made as her VR prototype. "For a prototype, this is a snazzy helmet! I'm sure it'll be a great bit for the kids. I'd like one for myself."

"I'm sure Arty will give you one for free when you help me rescue her," Vanitas said, hovering nearby. He wanted to make sure the professor wouldn't break it in his zealousness. "So, what's the verdict? Can you hook up the program to the computer?"

"Of course! Who do you think I am?"

 _Someone who isn't an arrogant scientist,_ he thought with an innocent smile. He tried not to say anything in hopes Prof. Von Drake would finish Arty's VR program.

"Uh, Vanitas? What exactly are you makin' the professor do?" Dale whispered to him. He stood aside along with the chipmunks while the eccentric professor fiddled around with the main computer and Arty's helmet. It was like some manic ritual to appease some technological gods.

"Arty's been working on a Virtual Reality machine so she can visit the datascape in Ansem the Wise's supercomputer. She was working out the kinks. If Prof. Von Drake succeeds, I can get into the computer's datascape and manually get through the bugs myself to reach our friends."

Like Arty said weeks ago, he was not the type to sit around when she and Caelum needed him. He wasn't going to stand by while they did all the work. No stupid computer was going to stop him. So what better way than to go inside it instead?

It was a brilliant plan if he said so himself.

"You really think that'll work?" Chip asked. He was a tiny bit skeptical, which Vanitas didn't blame him for. It did seem ridiculous.

"Who knows? We should at least give it a try."

"Not that I don't trust you or Arty's inventions, but should we be lettin' the professor mess around with it? What if somethin' bad happens?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine." The lie was thick on his tongue. The memory of his first meeting with the professor was on his mind. The professor was smart and all. That didn't mean all of his inventions worked during their first testing phase.

Suddenly, he didn't feel very confident.

"Done!" Prof. Von Drake finished dancing around the desk. He grinned from ear to ear, holding up the VR headset triumphantly like a trophy.

"Already?" Vanitas didn't expect for him to finish it so quickly. It took an hour at most.

"Yes, I'll admit the coding gave me a bit of trouble. Whoever came up with it really knows their stuff. However, I still found it fairly easy to fiddle around with. It should work as you asked."

"And you're sure you didn't change _anything_ than what I asked?"

"No. Would you like me to?"

"No, that's okay," he hurriedly said. Vanitas snatched the helmet out of his feathered hands. "So how do I use this? What am I supposed to do first?"

"Why, you put it on your head first, of course! After that, you press the button on the laptop that will hook up your brain to control your avatar instead of your real body. Then, you can freely explore the journal. I'm sure Chip and Dale can handle pushing the button if you're so picky about me doing it.

Vanitas, Chip, and Dale winced. Damn. They had been caught.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"It is no trouble. I may be the resident scientist, but I will admit some of my inventions will blow up in my face. For something delicate as this, I'm sure you wouldn't want me working on it."

Vanitas felt guilty at the ease Prof. Von Drake waved off the indirect insult. The guy was someone who loved science. He loved inventing despite the failures some of his inventions were. Arty was the same way, cut from the same cloth. Through her failures, she loved to invent.

"Professor," he said before he could talk himself out, "could you be the one to do all the connecting?"

"Really?" Prof. Von Drake was speechless. "You want me to do it?"

"You sure about this?" Chip muttered, questionably.

"I don't see why not. He's already here."

Dale glanced at the professor, who was eying the journal. There was no doubt there was a gleam in his eye.

"If you're really set on this."

"I am." He saw no harm in getting his help. Plus, he might have some ideas they could use.

"Thanks, sonny! I won't fail you!" The professor was overjoyed. Seeing him like this made Vanitas believe it was worth it.

Prof. Von Drake got to work. He grabbed the helmet to settle neatly on his head. It was a little big on him, a heavy weight against his ears. While Vanitas adjusted it so it didn't hurt his head, the professor pulled over one of the cushy high-backed seats the royal couple furnished the library with. Then, he pushed Vanitas on it.

"Alright, this is it," said the professor, typing away at the laptop. Chip and Dale were busy double checking the wires were set up correctly and making sure everything was okay. "Once I press this button, your mind will go straight to where the connection was last made. There might not be a way for us to communicate from there."

"And why's that?" asked Vanitas, adjusting the black visor over his eyes. Most of it enveloped his vision to black everything out.

"The connection's already spotty at best. Once you're in, you can't communicate with the outside. You're going to be stuck like a cabin in a snowstorm."

"Seriously? Then, how am I going to know what I'm doing or where I'm going?"

"You're not going completely alone. On your avatar, I uploaded a special code that enables you a sidekick that advises you. Your friend's VR program had one so she could have an assistant, so I handed him off to you."

That made sense. That meant he could have company that gave him tutorial hints and such like in some puzzle games. Personally, he never liked them since those partners treated you like a child that couldn't figure out what two plus two was.

"I guess I can deal with that." Vanitas leaned back in the comfy chair. He wasn't sure what to expect on his process. "Okay, let's get started."

"Good luck, Vanitas!" Dale bid.

"Bring everyone back," said Chip, confident.

"Come back in one piece," Prof. Von Drake advised. "Here we go!"

The headset whirred to life. The backlight came on to display a title screen with a white background. There was a box in the center with two options: _Dive_ and _Exit._ Prof. Von Drake pressed the _Dive_ option. The screen became a whirlwind of color and gave Vanitas the sensation of falling. Then, everything, including Vanitas' hold on reality, faded to black.

* * *

xxx

* * *

There were many times the complete darkness symbolized a new beginning in Vanitas' life.

As his time as Arun, his dreams of darkness came before the beginning of seeing other worlds again. The second time he was in the darkness he had awoken in Ventus' body. The third time he regained his identity as Vanitas once more.

Although he had no vision, Vanitas still had the sensation of falling. It was not a harsh feeling like a sudden drop in his stomach, but a gentle floating like it was a feather. As he opened his eyes, it was when he righted up and his feet touched a platform. It was the same platform Data Sora had arrived in where Arty rewrote his code.

That wasn't the only thing he noticed that was different.

At his peripheral vision, Vanitas noticed a little green bar attached to his avatar's portrait. Just as he asked, it was his original body-a mere recoloring of Sora. The clothes were a little different to be similar to the ones Ventus had but in black and red. It didn't look half bad on him.

" _So much to do, so little time..."_ Vanitas' skin jumped at the bodiless voice that appeared out of nowhere. Goosebumps ran up his arm although he could not feel the cold. " _Now, step forward. Can you do it?"_

He nodded. Very carefully, he took a step forward and then another. Though his mind told him this was a fake world, it felt as if he were in his own body. Everything was balanced. Each step carried him to the platform's center.

Reaching it caused three carved altars to rise around him. These altars held a red shield, a blue staff, and a simple sword.

" _Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well."_

Vanitas studied the weapons, unsure of what was the point. Why did he need to choose a weapon when he had the Keyblade at his command? He raised his hand to summon it. When he didn't feel the rush of warmth and magic he was surprised. Could he not wield his trusted Keyblade in this virtual world? It did make sense since it was his physical body that could wield it, not a body of code and data.

 _Right. I'm working with video game controls, too._ He had to remember that using the virtual reality helmet also meant abiding by its rules. Since Arty had it programmed to be like a video game, he had to work with that. The professor did not have the time to modify anything except to make the VR program sync to the journal as well as redesign his selected character-a mere recoloring of an existing model from the journal's data. Plus, he got a sidekick out of it, so he could live with this. _Time to start thinking like a gamer._

If he thought about it like a gamer, then the weapons around him had something to do with his play style. Did he want to be a warrior, mage, or a knight? The answer was simple.

Vanitas went straight to the sword's altar. He picked it up and was surprised by the weightlessness. He was so used to the constant weight his Keyblade provided he didn't expect other weapons to be so light. The hilt was a nice golden color while the blade itself was gleaming silver.

" _The power of the warrior,_ " said the voice. " _Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?"_

Invincible courage? Terrible destruction? Sounded like something right up his alley. He nodded.

In an instant, the sword vanished from his grasp.

" _Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in return?"_

Vanitas looked to the two remaining weapons. He had to give up either magic or defense in return for strength? Now that was a difficult decision. He liked being a balanced character who could beat things to death. Here, it seemed like he would need to prioritize what he wanted more. He had to choose wisely if he wanted to survive and meet Arty, Caelum, and Max.

Magic was useful in both reality and in games. Whether it was for battle or domesticity, it was useful when he loved to use multiple spells. But, defense was important. He could take harder hits and survive. Both were important, but only one really mattered to him.

He approached the staff.

" _The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you give up?"_

He nodded. Defense was something he absolutely needed in this unknown venture. He was on his own for his journey. There was no Caelum or Max to watch his back. He could sacrifice magic this once.

" _You've chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?"_

Vanitas agreed.

The three stone altars sank into the glass platform. Then, in his hand, a Keyblade appeared. It wasn't his regular geared Keyblade he had come to know so well. It was the simple one Sora was known to carry. The shape and design were familiar to him.

" _You gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others. There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."_

Pools of shadows erupted from the platform. They formed small bodies of pure darkness. Soon enough, he was surrounded by Heartless. There was something strange to them, Vanitas noticed. Each time they moved a part of their bodies glitched into bits of code. No surprise there. They weren't real Heartless.

Yet, as they slinked forward, they acted exactly like those damned creatures. They came at him at once with sharpened claws fit to rip hearts out. He had no choice but to fight back.

Vanitas threw all his being into the fight like he would in all fights: exuberantly and recklessly. Though there were only five of the, he swung his Keyblade to swiftly put an end to them. However, he did not expect to be moving at a slug's pace. He made each strike, but his arms were too heavy.

Taken by disbelief, he made himself susceptible to a few Heartless attacks. Their claws raked across his arms and torso. They didn't quite draw blood nor much pain out of his nerves. They did leave behind red lines and the health bar out of his vision's corner depleted. He got away from the Heartless to gather himself.

 _What's going on?_ Vanitas thought, raising to block the Heartless that lunged at him. Why couldn't he move like he used to? Even his magic wasn't listening to him as he attempted to use lightning to strike them down. He swiped at another Heartless going for his foot. The teeth caught it and vanquished it without fail. Down to four, it seemed. As the Heartless disappeared, a tiny bottle fell. It was close enough to him that it was suddenly absorbed. A message popped up in the corner of his sight that read, _Get Potion!_ It started to make sense. _That's right! Video game!_

Arty had done such a good job making the VR system as real as possible to make him quickly forget none of this was real. He supposed she wanted to recreate what it felt like to be in Ansem's datascape. With the added on features of a video game, he kept forgetting this was a makeshift one. He was going to have to be careful. He was not sure what would happen if his health bar reached zero. He had no time to waste over restarting if he 'died.'

While he mulled over the news, a door appeared before him. The space was empty one moment, then the next a white decorative door appeared.

Vanitas approached the door and reached for the handle.

"Don't open that door just yet."

He froze. Slowly, he turned around to the new voice.

Behind him was a figure dressed in a black cloak standing at the edge of the platform. It was worrying to see it was the infamous black cloak of Organization XIII the figure wore.

"Don't tell me it's the Organization's fault all of Jiminy's journal entires are missing," Vanitas said, tensed on instinct. That cloak symbolized nothing but anguish for him. How many times did he nearly lose his friends because of someone who wore that cloak?

"There's a lot more missing here than a few journal entries," replied the figure. The voice alone told Vanitas the black figure was not a man, as he expected, but a young boy's in their teens. He wasn't sure why, but his voice was eerily similar to Ventus'.

"Who are you?"

"Who I am isn't important." He shook his head. "Who _you_ are is what's important. Why do you look like Sora? You feel like you belong here, yet you don't appear exactly like him."

"I just copied his data to use this body for my own use. I'm not really here. The name's Vanitas."

"I see. So you came here to get to those from the real world. You'll have to do for now, I guess." The figure raised his arm to point a finger at Vanitas'. "Know that this journal contains more than Sora's journey a year ago. What I am about to show you is just as important."

Vanitas didn't know what that meant. He was unable to ask what he was talking about when the world flashed before his eyes. When it stopped he found himself in yet another familiar place. He was surrounded by nothing but white walls and a high ceiling. It was high enough for the single reason there were several tall, pale thrones which loomed over where he stood. This happened to be a single circular platform carved with an upside down (depending on where you looked) heart he recognized as the Nobody symbol.

The very sight of that damnable symbol set Vanitas on edge. He became more so when he saw that all seats, save for one, was filled with the Organization XIII Nobodies. Vanitas knew a few of them such as that annoying Demyx and Xemnas himself on the highest throne. Others he didn't think he had ever met. One of them caught his eye- a blond haired boy baring a striking resemblance to Ventus. He knew who that was in an instant.

 _Is that Sora's Nobody? Roxas, was it?_

Riku and several others often mistook him for Roxas on his last journey. Vanitas could see why. Save for the dark attire, he and Roxas had no differences appearance wise. Were it not for the blank stare the boy held, they could have been identical twins. How strange.

Anymore questions Vanitas had vanished as Xemnas seemed to speak to his fellow Nobodies. He held all of their attention, although Vanitas couldn't hear his words for an odd reason. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Vanitas saw another cloaked figure join him on the platform. By height alone, he saw this newcomer was small and was barely tall enough to reach his chin. Their hood was up, so he was unable to identify their gender.

Suddenly, the figure seemed to flicker like static on a glitching screen. Strangely enough, everything behind them remained crystal clear. Vanitas would have thought his eyes were playing a trick on him until the figure vanished all together followed by the other Nobodies.

To his right, the same cloaked man Vanitas met but a few minutes ago appeared in the blink of an eye.

"What was that?" he demanded before the figure could speak. "That was another Organization Nobody, right? Why did they suddenly vanish like that?"

"Like I said. There's more here than a few missing journal entries," said the figure. "You'll find more memories like this waiting for you as you delve deeper into this journal. Know that not all memories are as they appear."

These were his final parting words. The world tilted and went white again. Covering his face to save his sight, he waited until it faded. When he lowered his arm he was back in the Station of the Heart. Nothing had changed except for a pile of paper laying on the ground. Vanitas stooped down to pick them up, but the second he touched them they vanished. Out of the corner of his sight, he saw an exclamation mark and the message ' _Entries Retrieved!'_

Vanitas didn't know what it could have meant and decided he would think about this later when he met up with his friends. He was sure Arty would know what these entries were. If not, then he would have to drag the information out of the mysterious figure. He had no time for games.

Straightening back up, Vanitas walked towards the door and threw them open without hesitation.

* * *

xxx

* * *

"- _eepy head...Wake…"_

Vanitas groaned, his vision swimming in colors and blurs. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up as he realized someone was pulling on his hair. He ran a hand through the locks only to hear an indignant yell.

"Hey! What are you doing?" a slightly high pitched voice demanded close to his ear. There was a sharp prick on his earlobe's sensitive skin. "Quit fooling around! Get your lazy butt up. We've got work to do."

Vanitas' vision cleared. It was a bit of a shock for him when harsh sunlight didn't assault him. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't think being on prickly grass and leafy green leaves above him. Golden light speckled between the spaces of the leaves. He sat up, taking in his surroundings. He found he was in a forest, bushes dotted everywhere and were rather dry. It took him a moment to realize where he was.

"Twilight Town?" The forest he was in was rather generic and could have been anywhere, but the one thing that would stick out to him was the sunlight. Twilight Town was the kind of world where the sky had one time of day: sunset. It bathed the town built on rolling hills in orange light and brightened some things to gold. It was a beautiful, quaint town. And, as he twisted around to where there was a break in the forest, he saw the top of pointed rooftops. That was the supposedly haunted mansion outside the town.

"User, if you are content to simply stand there, then I will leave you behind," said a tiny voice next to his ear.

What was this odd high-pitched voice? Vanitas wondered as he looked around for the source. He could have sworn it was familiar-He froze when he found the culprit.

Floating in mid-air next to his shoulders was a tiny figure with wings. Because it was so close, he could make out the little thing was a human teenager with _wings._ Clear fairy wings to be exact.

"What is it you are gawking at?" the teenaged fairy asked with little emotion. He was no irritated or curious. He said it with no feeling behind it.

"You, obviously," replied Vanitas. "Who and, uh, _what_ , are you?"

"I realize that Users often rely on physical appearance to identify one another, so I shall not reprimand you this time." It moved to hover in front of him. "Lady Arty named me Orion. If I remember correctly, we had previously met in Ansem the Wise's computer system."

"Wait, you're Orion?"

"Yes, I just said that."

"That can't be! You're-" He waved at Orion's new blond body, which was also a replica of Ventus' body. Orion was a computer program Arty had created using data she compiled on the Keyblade. When he met the program in Ansem's computer system he had looked like the original body he had used a better part of his life. So why did he look like Ventus if he were a fairy?

"Lady Arty had given me this form in order to aid her in her virtual reality program," Orion explained. "She believed the form I was in before was distracting. To remedy this she changed it to be smaller and allowed me to access areas she could not."

"She did?"

He nodded, bobbing in the air to the motion.

"Yes. Now I am here to aid you in your journey so you may reach where Lady Arty is."

"You're the sidekick Von Drake said would help me?" Vanitas exclaimed. The fairy nodded again. "Great! This is starting to turn into some epic journey. Now all I need are dungeons and puzzles to solve and this will be a proper video game."

"This seems to be the case. You do need my help if that display earlier said anything," Orion mentioned, casually. He must have been referring to Vanitas' clumsy attempt while in the Station of the Heart. He hadn't realized that Orion saw that.

"Don't mock me! It's not my fault everything seems to real here." Arty had done a damn good job imitating realism in the Datascape. Either that, or it was like that in the first place. If he did not remind himself every few minutes, he would forget none of this was real. "And I haven't played a video game since last year. I'm a bit rusty when it comes to RPG elements. I didn't even know why I would be moving so slow.

"That would be because the game engine you are using is a prototype. This was never going to be the final product Lady Arty intended on using. Not only that, the fighting style is based off of the one named Sora since your avatar is using his data."

"So I can blame Sora for being so slow?"

"Yes."

Vanitas sighed. If this game mechanic was still a prototype, he was going to have to adapt to it. He had no other choice.

"So, Orion, you're going to be my companion for this journey? Does that mean you can also communicate with the others on the other side?"

"No. Due to the glitches and an unknown interference, I am unable to communicate with the User world. Until further notice, you are unable to return as well."

"I already knew that. Prof. Von Drake and Chip said it was something in here that was causing it. Any idea why?"

Orion zoomed to his hair and pulled on it. For such a small thing, he was strong enough to make his head twist towards the rest of the forest. Because he was so surprised about his location, he hadn't realized he was near the town wall and its broken hole. Black boxes were stacked on top of each other to slightly block it.

"Those would be one of the many forms the bugs have taken in this journal," Orion explained, releasing his hair. "These bugs interfere with this system's coding."

"Bugs, huh? Did they also mess with what world we're supposed to be on? Sora never visited Twilight Town last year." If he was really going through Jiminy's journal, the first place he was supposed to visit was Sora's childhood home, Destiny Islands.

"I...do not know. It is a possibility. As you said, you should have been transported to the first world Sora had visited after being reprogrammed. This place is an anomaly."

"That's not reassuring," Vanitas mused. He wasn't sure how this was possible if Orion didn't know this place. "Alright, so this is new for both of us. You're supposed to give me advice, aren't you? What should we do now?"

Orion flew towards the blocks, circling them.

"Destroy these blocks to gain access to the next area. I believe we should explore the area to get information. Perhaps we will also gain a path to Sora."

Vanitas nodded. It was a common thing to do in a new place. Exploring was always a good place to start. Orion flew back to him and landed on his hood, a solid weight against the nape of his neck. He summoned his Keyblade and, in two smooth swings, he effortlessly destroyed the blocks. His path was clear.

And so, Vanitas walked through the hole in the wall to take his first steps into this fabricated world.

* * *

 **XXX**

* * *

 **Okay, I know a lot of you have some questions and I can only say one thing to explain myself: Like all of you, I know that _Re:Coded_ is lacking when it comes to being relevant to the overall storyline that's _Kingdom Hearts._ Since I don't have much to go on with the game's story, I decided I might as well as use this time to explore another very crucial fact that was ultimately overshadowed during the year Sora was asleep.**

 **Roxas' diary. Does anyone know what happened to it?**

 **That is all I will say.**

 **Oh, and also making Orion a fairy has to do with the fact I happen to love the _Tinkerbell_ movies. Yes, I know they're silly and are for little girls, but I can't help it. They're guilty pleasures. Because of that, I had to make a reference from that movie. If you're still confused what I mean, take a good look at one of the fairies.**

 **Disney Fun Facts**

 **Professor Ludwig Von Drake: A brilliant, yet eccentric lecturer and scientist, he is Donald's uncle on his father's side. He first appeared as a presenter in _Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color_ in 1961, thus making him the first Disney character to be made specifically for television. He has vast knowledge in several subjects that range from science to music. Since the show's end, he had appeared in various other appearance such as sing-alongs, comics, etc. He made an official reappearance in the Disney Afternoon cartoon block during a guest cameo in a few episodes of _Ducktales_ (Author's Note: I'm seriously excited for the reboot of this. Oh, my goodness, David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck!) and has regularly made appearances in Disney TV shows since. Most of the time, he is portrayed as a bumbling scientist whose inventions (often trademarked "The Von Drake _Insert Name Here")_ always blow up in his face.**


	4. Tutorial Mode

Chapter 4

Past the hole, Vanitas ended up in the Tram District of the town. The ambience of the forest made it clear how far removed the place was when the tram passed, its wheels squeaking and clanging against the tracks. As the tram passed him, it revealed more blocks stacked in piles all over the town center. They were on the streets, the rooftops, and nooks and crannies. It wasn't the blocks that worried him. It was how empty the place seemed. Where was everyone?

"Orion, are you able to scan the area for other people?" he asked, wandering down the streets and avoiding the blocks. He searched the area for any sign he wasn't alone, but from what he could tell no one was around. He was sure it had to do with the fact this was a virtual world. It was possible the journal, when digitized, didn't place anyone but those mentioned in the entries inside the worlds. It would have explained why none of the townspeople were in the area.

The makeshift fairy climbed out of his hood, settled on his shoulder next to his ear, and said, "I am in the process of doing so. At forty percent I can sufficiently say there are no prominent figures in the area."

"Great."

"I am in the opinion it is not as 'great' as you think."

"Do you not know what sarcasm is?" he asked, exasperated.

"Sarcasm is the use of irony to mock-"

"Never mind." Leave it to a computer program to be cute with him and not know he was doing it. He should remind Arty to program sarcasm into Orion.

To double check Orion's claim, Vanitas wandered about the town. During his last visit, he hadn't taken the time to appreciate how homely or domestic the town was. Each building was built like they were boxes themselves in a way they were stacked and piled in a set style. The lower halves were often made of brick to match the cobblestone style the town had going for it, then the upper halves were fashioned and painted in tan that reflected the ever present sunset perfectly, presenting an array of warm colors. The tram common itself was wide and open spaced to allow the tracks to have more room to move as well. Stores were dotted here and there, selling their wares for all to buy. He spotted a candy store as well as an accessory shop. They were all devoid of life.

 _Like that isn't creepy_ , he thought, catching a shiver down his spine. The town was so lively before. In comparison this was a literal ghost town. It was discerning.

"What's the percentage now?" asked Vanitas as he made his way towards an alleyway. He peered around the corner into an empty little alcove.

"The search has been completed. Results: four NPCs have been located," Orion answered.

"Where's the nearest one?"

"Fifty feet away and oncoming."

That was the only warning he received. Suddenly, he sensed something coming at him from behind. He had a split second to step aside, and a flying wheel of fire grazed past. It was close enough for him to feel the heat yearning to burn him down to ash. The flaming wheel hit a wall, the flames dying out once it stopped. Its pointed tips and red metal curves were a sight he never thought he'd see again.

"You know that almost hit me, right?" Vanitas asked, glowering at his would-be assassin.

"That was the whole point." It was a familiar man whose red hair was the color of flames burning at their brightest. Axel's cheeky smirk was lopsided as he swung his remaining chakram like a fidgeting man waiting to jump his next victim. "I've got some questions for you, Mr. Imposter. You can be good or I'll do this the hard way."

"Why does it have to be the hard way?" he remembered. He slid his foot back to get ready to fight or run. The few seconds as he decided was to remember the last time he saw the red haired, black coated member of Organization XIII. Axel's last blaze of glory, telling them they reminded him of Roxas, his body flaking away into oblivion like a decaying corpse-they were memories he was still trying to deal with.

Axel grinned. "Who says the hard way has be to easy? Maybe I find it fun."

"Looks like you and I find 'fun' differently."

"Hey, got to get'em where you can." Axel surged forward. In an instant, he swept his arm to let his remaining chakram fly. It curved in the air, forcing Vanitas to move along the same way. It harmlessly sailed by to hit the wall behind him. As he moved along, Axel suddenly ran up to him almost like he had slid across the ground instead. The chakram he had remaining was ready to pierce his side, flames licking far too close for comfort. Vanitas managed to bring up his Keyblade to guard against it, the hand guard stopping one of the points from nicking his stomach. He pushed against Axel with considerable effort. It was useless as that gave Axel the chance to retrieve his other chakram and come after him.

For several minutes, Vanitas was forced on the defensive. Axel went in for a head on assault as he whipped his chakram around. At every opportunity he had, he threw his weapons to force Vanitas in one direction where he waited to strike. It didn't help that Vanitas was constrained to only three swings and slows ones at that. All he could do was guard, run away, and try to attack. To make him feel worse his health bar slowly whittled down from the few times Axel hit him.

It was the most embarrassing fight Vanitas had ever been in.

He was given some mercy from this hell when Axel stayed in place while Vanitas ran off to a safe distance.

"Huh. Not bad. I didn't expect for you to last this long," Axel panted, lowering his chakram to hang lazily at his sides. The grip he had on them told a different story."For an imposter, that is."

"What're you talking about? I'm not an imposter," Vanitas retorted.

"Sure you are. You're trying to disguise yourself as someone else I know you're not. I'm pretty sure Sora doesn't look like you do."

Vanitas stared. He was hit by a rush of deja vu. Axel had thought he looked like Roxas when they first met. It would seem he was continuing the trend in a new way.

"You think I'm trying to be Sora," he sighed, shoulders drooping. "Just because I look like him doesn't mean I'm him. The name's Vanitas."

"Vanitas," Axel mused, slowly tasting the name. "Not a name I'd pick for my kid. So, Vanitas, if you're not Sora, why do you have a Keyblade? Last I heard, not many people can wield it."

"Then, you haven't met many Keyblade wielders. It's not like we're in hot supply right now."

"I'll say." Axel studied him a bit more and closely scrutinized him. Vanitas resisted flipping him off or making a dirty joke. Finally, the Nobody nodded. "Alright, I guess I'll believe you're not Sora if-" he added before Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade, "you help me with a little problem I'm having."

"Why should I help you?"

"You wasted my time fighting you. That's time I could've been using to find a buddy of mine." Axel allowed his chakrams to fade into wisps of fire. He began to relax, putting a hand on his hip as he scratched the back of his head. "See, before I ran into you and way before these weird blocks showed up, me and a friend were minding our own business. Then, I suddenly blacked out, and when I woke up my friend was gone and these blocks popped up. I don't know about you, but all that on top of your appearance can't be a coincidence."

"It's a weird coincidence, but I swear I have nothing to do with your friend disappearing, the black out, or the blocks. In fact I'm trying to get rid of that last one."

"Sure you are," said Axel in a way he didn't believe a word he said. "I could care less about the blocks. I'm more concerned about finding my friend, and you're gonna help me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Guessing by your fighting, you're still wet behind the ears. You can either help me or-" Axel summoned his chakrams once again, "I won't hold back this time. I'll be happy to leave you a charred mess if you'd like."

It's official. I hate being level one. He had struggled against Axel while he was holding back. Who knew how strong the Nobody truly was in here? It looked like he had no choice.

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed. A tiny fist tugged on the back of his head. He ignored it. "What do you want me to do?"

Axel gave a sickly sweet smile.

"I knew you'd see it my way. The first thing I want you to do is to investigate why these weird blocks are here."

"I thought you said you didn't care about these blocks?" Vanitas asked in disbelief.

"Now I do. Besides, these blocks and whoever's behind them might be responsible for why my pal's missing. If this is some elaborate prank, feel free to take care of them."

"Alright. What will you be doing?"

"I'll be checking on the other side of town. You take a look around here. I already explored here, but there's a chance I missed something."

Vanitas scowled and nodded. He didn't like being around like this. Yet, what else could he do? He was a lower level compared to Axel.

"What's your friend look like?"

He shrugged. "He's dressed like me, short, and acts like kind of a space case. You'll know him what you see him."

That makes no sense. Why did Nobodies keep bothering him like this beyond the grave? How annoying. Looks like I'll have to run with it.

Nobodies, or the ones he knew, were notorious in how vague they liked to be. All he had to do was accept it to move on with his life.

"Now that you've got what you need, let's get started." Axel pointed down at his feet. "Let's meet back here if you have anything to report. Happy hunting."

Vanitas agreed half-heartedly. He really didn't want to be doing this. He watched Axel walk off towards the Station Plaza. He was probably going to catch a train to the other side of town.

"Why are you agreeing to a search?" Orion asked, leaning up from his hood to get closer to his ear. "I thought time was of the essence to find Sora?"

"It is, but what choice do we have?" he answered. They were already off course when it came to this issue. They were supposed to end up in Destiny Islands, not Twilight Town. Neither of them knew what was going on. "Our only lead is to explore the town to figure a way out of here. It just so happens Axel's objectives line up with our's."

"Are you certain? You are not obligated to do as he says."

"I know." He still wanted to do it. Axel (in real life) had saved their lives, sacrificing his so-called life to help them. Being the guy that he was, he preferred to repay people who had helped him. It was the only honorable thing about him if he had to pick a good trait. Axel had saved him at the cost of his 'life', so he thought repaying the debt to his virtual counterpart was the only way to do it he would help him out. "Let's just do it. If we happen to find this missing person, we'll tell Axel. Alright?"

Orion stayed silent, which Vanitas appreciated. It was nice that for an adviser Orion wouldn't fight him on his decisions. It was refreshing compared to Caelum nagging him about his bad decisions. With that matter settled Vanitas went off to complete his objective.

The town, although devoid of most life, was teeming with bugs that took the form of Heartless. Vanitas wasn't entirely sure why the bugs looked like the dark creatures that had ruined his life once already. He theorized that because the whole journal was about Sora fighting Heartless, the bugs took the form as a way to get around. So, in that way, he found it familiar to fight these creatures after weeks of continuously slaying them.

That didn't make it any easier for him.

From the tram common square to the uphill road to the clock tower station, groups of the little devils appeared to try and erase him. Each time Vanitas fought to defend himself, his copy Keyblade caught in their code to rip them to numbered shreds. It was no easy task as they were stronger than him and had more HP. He took more than a few critical hits that decimated his own health bar by half with each hit. He tried to retaliate but was astonished to find he could barely do any damage.

Because of that, the battles lasted longer considering he could only hit a total of three times. Combined with the limited space the blocks provided, and he was in for a world of hurt.

"This sucks!" Vanitas snarled as he slashed the last Heartless out of existence. He had been fighting for ten minutes just through two groups of five Heartless. In that short time he had gained a total of two levels to give him a grand total of three levels. "There has to be a faster way to level up than this. I'm barely hurting them at all!"

"Unfortunately, there isn't," Orion said in his ear. "I do not understand how the bugs have become stronger."

"What do you mean they've become stronger?" he asked, pausing his rage.

"You are able to see the bugs' health levels, yes?" Vanitas nodded. "You are able to see them in part because my code is interlaced with your's. I am able to scan the bugs' coding before transmitting the information to you in a simplified manner you would understand. In their data I can see durability, strength, and what elements they wield.

"That's handy."

"It is. However, when we entered this world I noticed an increase in the bugs' stats. Compared to how they were when Sora faced them in the Station of the Heart, these bugs have higher numbers."

"Meaning that they're harder to kill," Vanitas realized. "How can that be? You said those numbers changed in here."

"I do not know, exactly, what caused this," Orion explained. Being so close to his ear, he was able to make out his frustration. "It seems when you entered the system the change was already in place. Something must have occurred between the time Lady Arty vanished and your entrance. It may have been the cause for this anomaly in both the town and the Heartless."

"That doesn't sound good." This was becoming more of a mess than he first anticipated. There was more at work here than mysteriously blank journals. He approached the stairs near a billboard that led into a side alley. "We'll need to pick up the pace. I don't know if Arty or the others know about this yet."

For all of Arty's smarts, he doubted she would notice this issue before she even noticed she was trapped inside a computer.

The side alley, like the hill street, was crowded with blocks. Off beside the stairs was a gate for the trams to enter and leave. It was blocked by grey boxes that he learned were nearly indestructible. The rest of the boxes were red and had a few yellow and silver ones. The latter two were full of items and health balls. When he found that out he took care to always go after them and destroy them. After Orion's observation, he definitely needed them.

He destroyed a pile of boxes in front of another gate around the corner when he heard it.

"Hey! Is someone there?" called someone behind the silver chained gate. Beyond it was a small nook hidden behind a ratty curtain. It was brushed aside and a young boy ran out. "Thank goodness! We thought we were trapped in here for good."

"Hayner?" Vanitas blurted out. He didn't expect to see the blond, camouflaged boy he met in the real Twilight Town to be here. He was also joined by Olette and Pence. "Olette? Pence?"

He quickly found he shouldn't have said their names as they all appeared confused.

"Do we know you?" asked Olette.

"Oh, no. I just...saw you around town," he lied rather awkwardly. "I'm new in town. Anyway, why did you think you were trapped in there?"

"We can't get out," said Pence even as Hayner began to scrutinize. "We were stuck here because of the blocks in the way. We've been calling for help for forever."

"An hour," Olette corrected, sighing at their dramatics. "Thanks for getting those blocks out of the way."

"Sure," said Vanitas. He didn't know that they were there. Still, he accepted the gratefulness. He didn't know what else to say. Things became awkward as they stood staring expectantly.

"Aren't you going to open the gate?" Hayner tapped the chain impatiently. "We still can't get out. The gate's locked."

"No, it's not."

"What are you talking about? Of course it is! We still can't get out."

"No. That's because there isn't a lock..." Vanitas trailed off. The longer he stared at the gate, the more he realized there was no lock. In fact, there wasn't an opening at all. It was like the builders who put the fence there in the first place forgot to add a gate to enter the back alley. "I'm confused. Orion, what's going?"

"This would be one of the glitches I mentioned before," Orion replied, trying to stay out of sight. "I may be able to locate it, but you will need to continue going through the town. I will not find it until I am in the vicinity."

"Damn it." So this was how the other glitches manifested-by messing with everyday objects to make them so much harder to work with.

"Who is he talking to?" Hayner whispered to Pence.

The shorter boy shrugged.

"No clue."

"You three just hang tight," Vanitas said, ignoring their whispers for the moment. "I'll find a way to get you three out of there."

"You're just going to leave us here?"

Vanitas didn't reply, walking down the alleyway blocked by more boxes. He felt a sliver of guilt for leaving them there but it was small. What else could he tell them in this situation? They were, at their core, computer programs. They wouldn't understand that glitches were the main cause of all the strange occurrences in town. He barely understood it himself.

All he could do was walk down the slope at the other end of the alley. It curved back down to the center of town where he found an open lot. It was an open space mostly dominated by the blocks. Wooden benches surrounded the space as if it were for spectating a concert or an event.

The second his foot entered the threshold Vanitas heard a beeping noise behind him.

"It appears the glitch is in this area." Orion slipped out of his hood. He shimmered a bright light that rhythmically blinked at a steady beat. "I believe from here I can lead you towards the glitch."

"What are you waiting for? Go on, then!"

Orion did as he was told. He flew off towards the square, swerving between the towering boxes. Vanitas dispatched them as he ran to catch up, clearing up more space for him to move around. Once the blocks were gone, the little fairy was visible as he hovered next to a garage door.

"This is it?" he asked, examining the seemingly harmless door.

"Yes. To reveal the glitch, point your weapon towards where it is." He bobbed up at down in a large gesture at it.

Vanitas was unsure of how his Keyblade could reveal the glitch or what would even happen. After a moment's hesitation, he tapped the Keyblade's tip against the garage door. There was a shattering sound, the wall breaking apart to reveal an opening which softly glowed a neon blue. Numbers floated all around inside.

"This is the glitch, huh? I guess this proves I'm in a computer system," he voiced aloud. Within the virtual reality it all felt so real. It was the small things like this jagged crack in the wall that grounded him.

"No, this is simply the entrance within the code. The glitch itself lies within and you must defeat it to right the system. To get inside point your weapon at the entrance and you shall be transported inside."

"Is that so?" Vanitas grinned. "Alright. Let's do this."

He raised his Keyblade to point at the hole like Orion said. A slight numb settled over his form like when he and Arty were transported inside Ansem's computer. Just like that time his vision faded and all went dark. But in an instant, he was able to see again. He also gained movement in his limbs.

As expected, Vanitas was no longer in the sandlot. In fact, he wasn't sure where he was.

He was in some sort of large, dark room. It was much like the Space Paranoids where it had a glowing undertone to it. There were several raised platforms, blocks of varying colors strewn about. Vanitas studied the room and noticed a number in his upper vision. It flashed the number two prominently.

"Orion, I'm seeing a number here."

"That would indicate the number of bugs hiding in this sector," Orion answered, nestled in his hood again. "They are hiding in this room somewhere. I believe if you defeat them, then the glitch will vanish.

"You're not going to tell me where they are exactly, are you."

"That would be your job. Oh, and another thing I should mention. You should add some commands to your arsenal."

"Add _what?"_

"Commands. Swipe your hand downward and two menus should pop up."

Wary, Vanitas did as he was told. When he did a blue, transparent box appeared with several options in front of him. From top to bottom, it read 'stat board,' 'command gears,' 'weapon gear,' and 'customize.' They were all things he would find in a regular RPG.

"Now, go to the second option," Orion continued his makeshift tutorial. Vanitas tapped it, and the box changed to an empty four slot menu with a second menu popping up beside it. This one contained a list of...special attacks? "If you see a list of attacks, that would be your special attacks. While you have a basic three hit combination, these special attacks allow you to execute a variety of techniques. This includes using magic among other things like throwing your Keyblade like a boomerang."

"Wait, are you telling me I have to use these slots to use some attacks and magic? I'm being limited to only _four_?"

"Yes, is that an issue?"

"No, but it's something I'll need to get used to," Vanitas sighed, clamping down his irritation. Of course in the beginning he was being restricted. Like all RPGs, he had to work his way up. And, from the looks of the sparse list as he eyed it, he didn't know very many attacks. He only had something called _Sliding Dash_ and _Quick Blitz_ for physical attacks and no magic. Maybe later he would get more. It was amazing how accurate Arty made this to be like a role playing game. This would have been fun if it weren't being used like this for the first time.

Frowning, he inserted the two attacks along with a Potion slow for healing. With no _Cure_ spell he had to work with what he had.

Adapt was the name of the game he was playing.

Don't ask. Just keep going.

Exiting the menus, he got to searching the room.

The first thing Vanitas did was investigate the odd blocks in varying designs. The most common were black boxes with deep red lines stamped on them in jagged ways. They resembled computer chips in that manner. He knew they were breakable back when he first appeared in that world, so he hit them in one strike. He thought they were pretty annoying.

As always, there were several grey boxes he couldn't destroy. This was a good thing because he could use the boxes to reach the higher platforms. He jumped up them to a higher level where, against a wall, he saw a blue square opening. He began to make his way to it. Then, Heartless popped up. They were the regular shadows and only four of them.

Vanitas took this chance to try out the commands that he had equipped. When one of the shadows drew close he slashed one, then activated the command. His body knew what to do. In its pre-programmed state it took control for a second to leap up and swung his Keyblade down in an arc over his head. That hard hit smashed into the Heartless' head, dropping its HP down by a third. With two more attacks left he slashed and stabbed to destroy it. Then, he focused on the other three. He tried to use the _Quick Blitz_ again except he ended up automatically using _Strike Raid_. He threw the Keyblade at it. The blade spun it slice through the Heartless he was aiming for and the one behind it. Both took considerable damage.

Baffled, Vanitas used regular attacks to defeat them.

"Orion, can you tell me why I used a _Strike Raid_ when I wanted to use a _Quick Blitz_?" he asked after he finished.

"That is because you tried to use an attack while it was cooling down," Orion explained slowly as if he was stupid to have asked. "When you use a command it cannot be used again until it was cooled down. If you try to use a command in Cool down mode, you will end up using the next available command in your list."

Vanitas supposed that made sense if he were playing a real video game. It was to make the player adapt and use a variety of spells or techniques instead of full out spamming one (even though they could try anyway). In this situation he found they made little sense. Damn it! Why did Arty have to use a video game format for her VR programs?

"Can I at least use items without waiting for a cool down?" he asked, silently cursing his friend.

"Yes, you can. So if you find yourself struggling, you can keep using Potions to stay alive."

"That's good." He was thankful for that at least. Otherwise, he was in his own personal hell in digital form.

Satisfied he had items to rely on, he touched the blue square and was prepared to get on his knees to crawl through. His hand only skimmed it when he felt a minor electrical shock course through his body. He lost focus on the world. Then, when it died Vanitas regained himself to find they had been transported to a new room.

This room was nearly identical to the previous one. Vanitas would have thought he was in the same room except one, the platforms were on a lower level, two, the block pattern was laid differently, and three, the room was now an alarming red. There were shades of black around so his eyesight wasn't completely burned. The drastic change obviously meant there was something here.

Vanitas approached the edge of his platform and stopped. There was an open space in the center of the room as if it were a fighting pit. Boxes were dotted along the hard corners. Apprehension filled him. There wasn't anything around him, but he had the feeling that if he stepped down into the pit there were Heartless waiting for him.

Before he thought about doing that, he opened his command menu to replace his _Quick Blitz_ with another Potion slot. He had enough from Heartless dropping them (if only they did that in real life), so it was always good to have them on hand. He closed his menus, took a deep breath, then jumped down into the pit.

True enough, the second he touched down more Heartless appeared. There were three soldier types-shadows that wore armored helmets and boots- but there was something wrong with one of them. Two of them looked completely normal while the third phased in and out of reality. There were coded numbers flashing on its body as it twitched.

"That's the bug!" Orion exclaimed. His voice prompted them to attack.

The three soldiers leapt at them, armored tipped claws ready to shred through him. Suddenly, he found the bug was closer than he expected. He was too slow to guard against it. The claws raked across his arms and Vanitas flinched. God, that actually hurt! It reflected on the significant drop to his health. It dropped further into the red zone as a second soldier managed to land a hit.

 _Get away! Get away!_ His instincts screamed, and he obeyed.

Vanitas backed away and tumbled sideways to put distance he needed. Then, he activated his Potion command to bring his health back up. It was in time, because he found the bug had caught up with him. He quickly guarded and was assaulted by claws.

What the hell was wrong with this bug? he wondered. He was forced to defend and defeat the Heartless when he had the chance. It was easy to hit the normal Soldiers, chipping away at their health until one finally was defeated. The weird one was moving too fast to land a good hit on it. It was so frustrating. This didn't help at all with him trying to avoid losing his health. It made him more reckless as he threw caution to the wind, swinging his blade wildly. It left him open to attacks, which the buggy Heartless took advantage of.

 _Why won't you just die!_ Vanitas silently cursed the damnable thing. In his thrust it was more effort than was needed. The damn thing managed to slide to the side because of its glitch. Then, faster than he could see, it leapt at him, swinging its feet like a mini killer tornado. He blocked it, then got away. He needed a new plan.

Knowing he was screwing up short range attacks, Vanitas decided that long range might be better in this case. Twisting to face the thing, he activated his Strike Raid. He threw his Keyblade at it. The bug didn't move and the Keyblade hit true. He was happy to see that it took out a considerable chunk of its HP. It gave him some hope.

Hope renewed, Vanitas knew what he had to do.

With this Heartless being the only one left Vanitas freely spammed the long range command when he could. He learned to time it just right when the Heartless rested after attempting an attack at him. After he got it down, it was easy to take out the damn thing. The number one appeared on the bugs defeated. He didn't have long to celebrate when another group of Heartless like the last spawned.

Once again, he was forced to fight them off with another Heartless glitched out to be insanely fast. This time, he knew what he was up against and how to deal with them. It took him half the time and only one Potion-his remaining one before it restocked from his inventory after battle-to take them out. At the end he was satisfied to see the bug counter go up to two. The room also changed to a calm blue like the other room.

Then, in the center of the pit, a portal appeared.

"The gate is now open. You are free to leave the glitch," Orion explained. "Everything should be fixed as well since the bugs have been eliminated."

He was glad to hear that. He wasn't sure whether to trust the system to trap him there. Now he had a way out. He quickly made his way to it. He couldn't have gotten out fast enough. It teleported away from the blue rooms and back to the simulated Twilight Town.

* * *

xxx

* * *

The portal sent Vanitas back to the data Twilight Town again where he had entered the glitch. He touched back down to the concrete, glad nothing was that mind numbing blue.

"That could have gone better." Orion flew out to hover in front of him. His tiny wings fluttered like a hummingbird's. "If I had known you would do so terribly, I would have told you to get more Potions."

"It's not my fault those Heartless were at a higher level than me," he grumbled, rubbing his side. He noticed, while battling the Heartless bugs, he had gained a new level, which increased his health bar. It wasn't noticeable, but he was sure once he accumulated more HP he would see it at a significant length.

"Although your performance was abysmal, you managed to complete your task. The glitch has disappeared."

"Has it?"

"Yes, but it will not be noticeable until you return to the three kids."

It made sense. The only thing the glitch affected was the door.

They headed back up the slope to the back alleyway. He reached the top to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette had exited the back corner, the chain link gate thrown wide open. Hayner and Olette were quietly conversing about something. Pence was busy examining the blocks with an eerie delight.

"Looks like you guys got out alright," Vanitas said. He smirked as they were all startled, whipping around. He just loved catching people off guard.

"You're way too quiet. You know that's creepy, right?" accused Hayner, scowling at his delight.

"I gotta get my kicks somewhere."

"That's messed up."

"Hayner," Olette chided, elbowing her friend in the diaphragm. "Were you the one to help us break out?" He nodded. "Thank you for the help, then. We really appreciate it."

Vanitas shrugged.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No, really. You could have just left us in there but you didn't."

"Yeah, we owe you one," Pence agreed, nodding along with his friend.

"Why are you thanking him? How do you know if he's really telling the truth?" Hayner jabbed an accusing finger at him. "For all we know he could be with the weird black coat guy! Heck, he could be behind all these blocks and the things going on!"

"What weird black coat guy?" This was the only thing Vanitas had caught on. "I'm not with the guy you're talking about."

"Right before we got locked in the hideout, we saw this guy in a black coat walking around," explained Pence. "We've seen guys walking around in black coats before, but this guy we saw was acting really suspicious. I couldn't help but feel like he was watching us."

"You thought so, too?" Olette put a hand under her chin in thought. "I felt like it was always the same guy watching us, too."

"Just wondering, but how tall was this guy?" Vanitas asked.

"I think about-" She held up a hand flat an inch higher than her, "this tall. We don't know what he looked like because he had his hood up the whole time."

Vanitas nodded. He was right in helping the three. They just gave him the answer to his own problem with Axel.

"Like I said, I'm not with the guy, but I'm looking for him for someone. Do you know where he went?"

"I think he was headed somewhere to town."

"The mansion," said Hayner out of nowhere. Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "That's where I think that guy was headed. There's only one place in town where weird stuff always happens and that's the mansion."

"Got it." Vanitas already knew that the mansion was the one place where he could find all the answers. It remained true before and it would always hold true now. "The three of you head on home. Once I find that guy, hopefully the town will go back to normal."

"How do you know?"

"What are you planning to do?"

Both Hayner and Olette spoke. They both looked at him in expectancy. Vanitas was only too happy to disappoint.

"Don't worry about it," he repeated. He smirked at their slumped shoulders.

As Vanitas asked, the three teens made their way out of the alleyway to head back home. He decided to wait for them to actually leave. He spotted the three hanging around the corner. There was no doubt those three curious kids would follow him to the mansion. They may have been bits of data, but they acted so much like the real thing.

 _I shouldn't let my feelings get in the way_ , he thought, beginning to make his way to the mansion through the Sandlot. Several Heartless bugs came in his way to try and stop him. They were easy experience for him. It was true that he had some lingering feelings for the few acquaintances he made in the real world. They were annoying things in an artificial world. Why have feelings like fondness or concern for replicas like data? If they actually got hurt, they could easily be salvaged. The worry he had for his trapped friends were more important.

He needed to consider what was more important. Data could be recovered. Despite his own miraculous return, human lives would never return.


	5. The Darkside of Twilight Town

Chapter 5

Through the cramped Sandlot and into the Tram Common, Vanitas was back where he started. Having made a full circle, he wasn't surprised that the area was almost clear of Heartless. He had fought all of them so much for experience he had destroyed a majority of them. Even as he made it to the hole in the wall, he ran into no Heartless.

He did run into something else.

As he reached the hole, a heavy force knocked into his shoulder and shoved him aside. Vanitas lost balance, hitting the ground on his other shoulder. A black figure ran past through the hole and into the woods beyond.

"Stop! Get back here!" Axel came over, stopping before Vanitas. He was panting heavily with his chakram clenched in his hands. "Oh, hey. I found a lead on why the town's like this. Get up and follow me!"

Axel didn't wait for him at all. He ran through the hole without hesitation. Vanitas got up and followed after him.

Bursting into the woods, he found Axel close to the entrance. He was engaged in combat with several Heartless. They were the large big-bellied kind with small heads but massive arms that hurt when swung around. Vanitas was quick to help out. He brandished his Keyblade and threw himself into battle.

"What lead are you talking about?" he grunted as he rolled beneath a swinging arm. He gave quick slashes to its open back but had to back off as it whirled around.

"That guy that knocked into you. He-" Axel cut himself as he jumped back and threw a chakram. It curved and cut into the Heartless' side. Vanitas noted how the health bar went from full to a sliver in one hit. God, how strong was this guy? It didn't matter as he used his other weapon to eliminate it. "Sorry. That guy was suspicious enough. No one except people I know wear our coat. I didn't recognize this guy."

"Wasn't he your friend? You said he wore the same coat."

"I...don't know. He never spoke. When I asked him if he was behind all this he ran off. Ro-My little buddy wouldn't run off like that."

Vanitas used a _Quick Blitz_ and a _Strike Raid_ to get rid of the last Heartless. With more breathing room he considered how Axel went about it. Just like before, Axel hit first and asked questions later. Did he ever change? It didn't look like it.

"Why did you think he was behind all of this?"

"Why wouldn't he?" challenged Axel. "You don't just run off unless you have something to feel guilty about."

He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either. Vanitas had plenty to feel about and he never ran away...as much. He still wondered if running away was a good solution to his problems.

"So, you followed after him to try and get him to confess?"

"You got it. I didn't expect him to head for the mansion."

"But, why the mansion?"

Axel shrugged. "Beats me. I wouldn't be surprised if something's going down there that I don't know about. If anything, that makes him even more suspicious." He tapped on Vanitas' shoulder. "C'mon, not-Sora. We've got an imposter to catch."

 _Don't call me that_ , he thought, frowning. The accustations never failed to make him want to shove his Keyblade through someone's gut. After so many times, he was sick of being called a copy or a fake. However, he hated wasting time, so he kept silent on the matter.

For now.

The woods were tranquil for an area infested with Heartless. The soft sunlight, filtered by the treetops, was a pretty glow that was warm. Birds sang and leaves rusled in the breeze. Other than the blocks, it would have made for a picturesque moment. The closer they got to the mansion, the more Vanitas felt like he was the naive, innocent hero in a fairytale. To wander through the dangerous woods and to come across a brief moment of safety and mystery...He probably was the hero of his story, save for being naive.

 _Or maybe he was the Big Bad Wolf on the prowl._

He liked the sound of that. He was no innocent youth.

Just before the forest's threshold gave way to the sparse mansion gates, several swirls appeared in numbered jumbles. They moprhed into Heartless, which quickly surrounded them.

"This is not my day," groaned Axel, hefting up his chakram. With the flick of a wrist he threw one at a floating green pot that had a tiny gold lid-one of the magical types. It vanished, and prompted the others to attack.

The two split up. Vanitas thrust himself to the head of battle, hacking away at their health the best he could with his levels. It was easy to take out the floating magical Heartless. The big bellied ones he left to Axel. The Nobody kept to the fringes, dashing around to throw his chakrams or to slip beneath their guards to hit weak points. They were a fluid machine as they went on a Heartless killing spree that never slowed.

They soon realized that for every Heartless they took out, more came through. Vanitas may have had no stamina to worry about he still got tired of fighting. He was more fragile than Axel. Several times, he took a hard hit and his HP dropped into the red zone. Potions helped to restore it, but they were in limited supply. He wasn't sure if he could keep going.

"This is stupid!" Axel shouted, emphasizing his anger with a vicious slash. The Heartless didn't know what hit it. "They just keep coming! We're wasting our time!"

"If you've got an idea, please share," Vanitas grunted. He raised his Keyblade to guard against a large fist. It smashed on it, numbing his arms. Damn! Arty didn't do things half-assed! He dropped low and swiped its leg. The big belly fell on its back like a turtle. It didn't suffer its fate for long.

"Hm...I got one." Axel was beside him in an instant. Raising his arm, a black portal appeared in front of them. Vanitas' first instinct was to get away from it. A hand on his back prevented that. It pushed him, causing him to fall forward. He steeled himself for the chill which came with using dark portals.

He received none of that.

Vanitas wasn't expecting for a dark portal to suddenly appear, but he could still recognize its attributes. One moment, he was in the forest. Then, he fell on the front lawn of the mansion. It startled him so much he completely lost his balance and landed flat on his face. Orion didn't escape the harsh treatment as he tumbled out of his hood to fall on the soft grass.

"That wasn't the most graceful landing," said Vanitas, shifting to stand. He scooped up the ruffled little fairy. "You alright there?"

"Ye-Yes." Orion shook his wings and stood. He took to the air and moved in a tiny circle to scan the area. "It appears we are at our destination. I did not think that Axel fellow had the ability to create portals."

"I didn't know it was possible to do that." That wasn't the typical portal of darkness he was accustomed to. There was normal a corridor that connected the two points together. It took a length of time to travel between the points. What happened right then was instantaneous. Vanitas glanced behind him to see if Axel was there as well. Instead, all he saw was the front lawn. The portal was nowhere in sight. "But I thought he would follow after us. What gives?"

"That Nobody has no business here. You, on the other hand, do."

Vanitas twisted to face the gates. The iron bars that kept the gates closed were locked by a giant padlock. A figure in black stood between him and his destination. Judging by his voice, it was the same person he met in the Station of Awakening.

"Are you the one that closed the portal on Axel?" Vanitas demanded. He held his Keyblade up as Orion flew back to his hood.

"So you've got a companion to lead you through here," the MCF commented, ignoring him. "Can't fight alone, can you?"

"What's it to you?"

"Hit a sore spot, did I? Good."

"Why are you here?" He was getting sick of dealing with this guy. "Have you come here to mock me or what?"

"Didn't I tell you before? You need to experience things none of you can even fathom so you can warn Sora."

"Experience what? I don't understand."

"Why don't you find out?" The MCF stepped aside to point at the mansion's padlock. Then, wordlessly, he created a portal and vanished within it.

"That was incredibly cryptic." Orion settled on his shoulder where he hid from sight. "Are you going to do as he said?"

"What choice do I have? If this is our way forward, then we'll have to take it," he replied. It wasn't lost to him that he felt nothing but irritation as he said it. Listening to Axel was one thing. He had a debt to pay with him. But, when someone told him what to do without revealing his identity just pissed him off.

"You don't sound particularly happy about it," the AI noted.

"I just don't like being told what to do."

"Then, why do it?"

"Because sometimes people don't have the choice in the matter!" Vanitas shouted. When he finished he winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. What I meant is that when there's no other option we have to take other people's advice no matter how much we don't want to."

"...I see," said Orion. "Then, let us enter the keyhole and move forward."

He lifted his Keyblade, secretly relieved they had move away from the painful topic. It brought up painful memories. The tip of his Keyblade began to glow in resonance with the padlock. Before his eyes, a portal was created. Numbers and code trailed down its sides. Vanitas raced into it, ready for the unknown.

The portal led to a different part of town. It didn't lead to the mansion like he thought but to the Station Square in front of the train station. It was empty like the rest of the town.

"Why are we here?" asked Orion. He came out to zip around the area. "I do not sense any other entities here. I believe we were tricked."

"But, this is where the main glitch is located, right? That guy wouldn't make us go in here if it wasn't."

"yes. That is why I am performing a secondary scan. Wait," he suddenly said. He paused in front of the station entrance. "Something's coming! Behind you!"

As he predicted, the wind shifted behind Vanitas. Whirling around, all he saw was a massive black body before he was shoved to the ground to the ground. A few feet above his head a giant fist smashed into the ground.

"Are you okay?" Vanitas was suddenly aware that someone had fallen on top of him. He rolled over to sit up.

He first became aware that the person was small and slimmer like a girl's when they were on him. There was also the feminine voice. When he saw them they wore an Organization XIII coat, their hood up to conceal their identity.

Vanitas opened his mouth to ask who he was. It did as Orion flew back to him to tug his hair in one direction.

"What are you doing? Don't just stand there in front of it!"

 _In front of what?_ Vanitas looked behind him and found the answer.

A massive, muscular Heartless that appeared more humanoid than any other of its kind loomed over them. Its head didn't appear to be a head at all as its hair was more like tentacles sprouting from the scalp and yellow eyes peeked out from the depths. What Vanitas noticed the most was the prominent heart-shaped hole in its abdominal area. That was a huge Heartless!

The Heartless drew back its curled fist and fell to its knees. Dark mist surrounded its chest and, like a cannon, shot forth giant balls of energy. They exploded in midair into small balls that rained down on them. When one touched his arm it burned away a chunk of his HP.

Vanitas cursed, summoning his Keyblade to block against them. What the hell was this thing? He couldn't afford to let his guard down.

The assault stopped and the Heartless got back up to tower over them. He took its brief pause to down a Potion to heal himself. Checking that Orion was in his hood, he charged the Heartless. As he ran, he felt someone come up on his right. It was the cloaked figure.

"Who are you?" he grunted as they reached the Heartless. He had a feeling the cloaked figure was on his side when they stayed back to fire off spells. It damaged the Heartless, little chunks of numbers chipping off.

"It doesn't matter," said the figure. Yup, it was definitely a girl. "I'm trying to beat this thing."

"Why?"

"It's-"

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted as the giant Heartless got back up. It lifted its fist again and threw a punch out where the Organization member was. She was small and nimble enough to get out of the way but stumbled at the shockwave. When the fist connected to the cement a pool of darkness emerged. Tiny shadows popped up, sickly bright yellow eyes unusual in broad daylight. They converged on the Organization member.

Gasping, she thrust out a hand. A fireball formed and shot at the Heartless. It went wide, missing them all. Before she could fire another or Vanitas could come to the rescue, a Shadow lunged with its claws ready to tear through fabric and into supple skin-

What happened next was something Vanitas couldn't understand.

He wasn't sure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or if the system malfunctioned. All he knew was that one minute, the girl was bracing herself for the attack, and then she was gone. She flickered out of existence as if she was never there to begin with. It suddenly reminded him of what he saw before he entered this digital town.

The mysterious Organization member that had flickered out of existence.

It explained how she disappeared but not why. Who was that? And more importantly, why did she just leave him to fight a giant Heartless by himself?

"Oh, come on!" The least that mysterious figure could have done was stuck around to help him. Now he had to fight a giant Heartless when he was only a low level character. That sucked _hard_. "Damn it! Who cares?"

He was better off fighting alone, anyway.

Vanitas still found it annoying to have received help only for it to be taken away. Despite that, he knew that he had to keep going on alone. So, he used a _Strike Raid_ to deal damage to the fist still on the ground. The Heartless did not move its fist even as Vanitas attacked it, his three hit combos whacking furiously to deplete its HP. While he did that, the smaller Heartless that showed up were taken out as he swung his Keyblade. They dropped tiny HP balls to heal him, which was useful.

Finally, the giant Heartless lifted his fist off the ground and got off its knees. Vanitas backed off to a safe distance. He eyed the Heartless warily, waiting for its next move.

The center of the Heartless' chest began to emit an indigo hue. The dark energy converged in the heart-shaped hole. Vanitas tensed as the energy reached its peak to explode. From the hole, a malevolent purple orb shot out into the sky. Or, so it seemed, when it changed directions to fly at him. He threw himself to roll across the concrete and back up to his feet so the orbs harmlessly hit his previous spot. That wasn't the end of that as the Heartless shot off more orbs.

Vanitas kept rolling to dodge the orbs. It seemed that this body, in its pre-programmed state, could only use rolls to get away from any attacks. It made him just a tiny bit faster as he could dodge unscathed. The Heartless fired off four more orbs, then it ran out of ammo.

Getting back to his feet, Vanitas decided that standing around and waiting for it to attack was not doing it for him. He bolted straight for the Heartless, ignoring Orion's warnings to not get too close. Jumping, he swiped his Keyblade up to try to hit the hand he had attacked before. He hadn't expected for his jump to be so high or that he could reach the hand, but it worked. The tiny swipe had dealt damage. He was able to get in a few more air attacks before he had to land. He retreated to a safe distance as before to see what it could do next. All the Heartless did was to curl its fist again and slam it into the ground.

Bewildered, Vanitas jumped so he wouldn't stumble from the shockwave. Then, he darted for the fist to sidestep the Shadows that appeared around the fist to attack it.

It was odd, he noted as he attacked the giant Heartless, how predictable such an instinctual creature could be. He wasn't sure whether it was the nature of these bugs in the form of Heartless, but they followed a pattern he could easily follow. It didn't take long for him to spot the pattern this giant creature followed. Its first major attack was to hit the ground with its fist. The second was the orb attack that split into smaller ones that rained from the sky. Finally, its third was to drop on its knees and create dark homing energy missiles from its torso.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

After seeing the Heartless cycle through these attacks a full second time, Vanitas quickly recognized its pattern. He formulated when it would attack and took careful pains to avoid taking too much damage. For the fist attack he merely had to hop long enough for the shockwave to subside and kill the Shadows. Everything else, all he had to do was keep moving. As long as he never paused and took careful consideration of where the dark balls would land, he was fine. It was during each pause between the attacks that he used combos to retaliate.

With each attack combo he always started or ended with a command from his menu. This made the cooldowns much bearable to deal with so he could repeatedly use them. It helped that they racked up enough damage to deplete the Heartless' health bar.

Knowing what to do, Vanitas was able to hurt the Heartless enough until the HP bar dwindled to nothing. He made one final strike to its fingertips with a _Quick Blitz_ and he watched its health drop to nothing. He landed back to the earth, watching a little notice appear in the corner of his eye that informed him he had gained two new levels.

Vanitas knew stamina didn't exist here but the adrenaline rush made him breathe heavier. His heart rate skyrocketed like it always did after an epic giant Heartless fight. Satisfaction ran through him in sadistic pleasure as the Heartless fell to its knees. As always, all Heartless bowed to his greatness eventually. It collapsed forward, tilting towards him.

 _Oh, sh-_

He dove sideways to get out in time but the sheer size of it made it difficult. It fell on top of him in one heap. All the air became stifling as the darkness fell over him. He struggled against the snaking tendrils threatening to pull him under. No, not again! Please, not his light! Don't take him away again!

"User!" Orion's voice in his ear grounded him in his overwhelming panic. "Stay calm! Look up!"

He did as he was told. Above him, stark in the deep black void, was a single light. Like a star, it beckoned him to use it as a guide. All instincts screamed for him to reach for it. Lifting his heavy arm, he did reach out. He knew that it was too far for him to reach it.

Against all odds, a warmth brushed his fingertips. It zapped him and sent tingles up his arm through his whole body. Something wrapped around his wrist and yanked him forward out of the darkness' clutches. Yet, it sent him falling into a swirling vortex of zeroes and ones. His eyes blurred and the last thing he saw was a single message in the corner of his eyes.

 _Entries Get!_


	6. Castles and Curses

Chapter 6

The vortex worked like any other portal Vanitas had used. He went right in to end up somewhere else. That was how all portals worked. But, that didn't mean he always had the most graceful landing.

Vanitas was yanked forward, yet he was falling down. Like a tube, he couldn't see the end to it. If it weren't for his hair whipping everywhere, he wouldn't have thought he was falling. Then, suddenly, he found the end.

Or, maybe it found him.

Before he knew it, he hit a solid surface. He didn't actually feel the impact but, for a moment, his vision turned upside down. Groaning, he closed his eyes before he got motion sick. His skin got goose bumps like it would before he vomited everything in his stomach.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there. When he started to feel better he lifted his head to find a light weight on top of him.

"Are you finally feeling better, User?" Orion asked, slipping down his head and bumped on his nose. He fell flat on his feet. The tiny thing was so close to his face he could make out the details on his clothes. They were very accurate to Ven's outfit.

"I'm never going to feel better, but I'll live. What happened?" he asked, pushing himself to sit up.

"You defeated the bug in that world. From my analysis, all of the bugs have disappeared and it has returned to normal."

"Is that going to happen in every place we visit?"

"Yes, it should. It also seems that when you defeat the bug of a world we will be transported to a new section."

Vanitas saw what he meant. He _felt_ it. The atmosphere had changed from Twilight Town's homey air to body shuddering chills. Examining where he was didn't help either. He was sitting in a castle courtyard to what was the scariest castle thus far. It was nothing but jagged towers, spires that threatened to pierce the sky, and terrifying gargoyles to guard its inhabitants. The sky itself was dark like a cliché stormy night. As the wind howled from the forest like a dying animal, he suddenly felt like he was playing an old school horror game.

"Did Sora ever visit a place like this?" he asked, standing. He reflexively rubbed his arms that held no goose bumps.

"I-I do not know," Orion said, nervously. He flew back to his head, nestled between the locks to hide from the world. "It is like before. This world is an anomaly. It should not exist in this datascape, yet it does."

"This is freaking you out, isn't it?"

He never replied, choosing to burrow further into his scalp.

Vanitas chuckled. For an AI, he was surprisingly a lot like Arty. She was the same way when she never knew what to say when she didn't have the answer. His amusement was gone as he stared up at the tall entrance to the castle. It loomed over him, a yawning mouth to a patient monster.

Once again, he was in a strange world. There was only way to go, and it was forward. Bunching his hands in his jacket pockets, he made his way up the stairs and pushed open a door. He winced at the heavy weight, the hinges creaking as it went. He could only manage to open it enough for him to squeeze through its crack.

The inside was no better. It was barely lit except for a candelabrum on a side table. Everything in the entrance hall was a mirror of the outside-dark, dank, and lifeless. He knew this wasn't to be true when the marble was clean and the red carpet leading to the grand staircase was rich. From the side doors, there was a warm ember glow through the open crack.

It wasn't the coziest castle he had ever visited, that was for sure.

Curiosity was one of the traits he had gained over his journey. He loved to explore and find new things. This time was no different. Passing the blocks stacked in what should have been an open space, he reached the door. Squeezing inside, he was in a small parlor room as richly decorated as anything he saw. Against one wall was a grey mantelpiece, its fireplace burning away the drafty chill. The little senses he had provided warmth he hadn't known he had missed. He sat down at the high backed armchair to warm his hands.

"I assume this is another moment where you waste time?" said Orion in his ear.

"I'm not wasting time. I'm taking a breather. I just went through a traumatic experience."

"And?"

"And the fact that I went through that means I have to accept the information and process through the shock."

"What does that have to do with anything? Is this another human thing?"

"You don't know a lot about humans, do you?" Vanitas mused. The short time he had known the AI he noticed he could not fathom human behavior yet. "You need to study up on humans more. We're all a pretty weird bunch."

"I know, but I have a question."

He tilted his head to catch the fairy out of the corner of his eye. "What would that be?"

"Is it normal for inanimate objects to move?" Orion must have seen his confusion. He flew up and climbed over the chair. Vanitas leaned over to glance behind the door. He tried to be inconspicuous about it.

"-master will be very upset! Who knows what he will do?" chattered a posh sounding man. It was tinier than he had expected as if the speaker were close to the ground.

"Can't you see the poor boy is cold? He mentioned something of a traumatic experience," said his companion. He was much harder to hear with the accent he had there.

"All the more reason to make him leave!"

"How do you suggest we do that, then? We cannot possibly address him the way we are now."

Vanitas couldn't believe his eyes, thinking they were right. The two speakers were two inanimate objects like Orion said. One was a wooden clock made of fine some sort of dark wood with a round clockface where the hands were pointed at the four and eight numbers to make it look like a mustache. It also had a glass door chest. The other was a three handled candelabrum made of gold. They were huddled in the door's shadow to avoid being spotted, but he saw them anyway.

"I don't know! But, he needs to go _now_ before the Master realizes he is here," hissed the clock to the candelabrum.

He was about to tell them that he already knew they were there (and oh, so confused. He had seen a lot of weird things and this was one of them), but a loud roar interrupted him. It chilled Vanitas to the bone, causing his primal instinct to scream _RUN!_ He was on his feet in an instant, yet remained where he was. What the hell was that?

The clock and the candelabrum had a better idea of what that could have been. They jumped and shook tremendously, especially the clock. The tiny hands clinked as he shuddered.

"The Master! He knows!"

"That was your master?" Vanitas gave up the pretense he couldn't hear them. He swiftly snatched up the clock and clutched him in his hands to look him in the face. "Look, I'm not here to harm any of you. Please tell me your master isn't going to kill me."

"Unhand me, boy! This is most unbecoming!" The clock used its stumpy hands to hit his fingers. It did little damage.

" _Monsieur,"_ said the candelabrum, tapping his feet with an unlit 'hand.' "I do not think grabbing my companion will do anything to convince our master you do not mean any harm."

"I think you should listen to them," said Orion.

"I'm trying to save our skins!" he hissed back. Orion didn't seem to realize the danger they were in. That roar was the sound of a vicious animal. He learned that when animals made that noise it was a warning. Whatever was approaching was not happy. It was out for _blood._

That was never a good thing.

Vanitas' basic survival instinct screamed at him to leave. They need to _go!_ Like any time he had this call, he obeyed. He fled from the room, still holding the clock in his hand. At the same time he got into the hall a dark blur vaulted from the upper level. It landed a few feet away from him, blocking his path to the door. All movement came to a screeching halt, stricken in abrupt fear at the person. Or, rather, the beast.

The master of the castle was a hybrid creature. Vanitas wasn't completely certain what kind of animal he was, but it was bipedal, covered in chocolate fur from head to toe. It towered over him at seven feet, its face long and twisted in a rabid snarl to showcase canines that could snap his spine in half. It had to be inhuman, because the horns on his head could gut him. At least it had the decency to wear torn pants and a cape as if it was trying to appear civilized.

It did little to comfort him.

"You…" it snarled, taking a step towards him. Vanitas took a step back in response. "Who are you? Have you come to steal my rose?"

"Who, me?" he gasped. "I'm not sure what you mean. I'm not much of a flower guy."

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

"M-Master," the clock stuttered in his hand, "this boy has nothing to do with that. He's-"

The beast ignored him and grabbed for Vanitas. It had remarkable speed for such a hefty creature. He had no chance of escaping, black clawtips ripping from down his arm. His health bar drained. He dropped the clock as he was lifted off his feet. The creature carried him like he was a boneless kitten towards the door. Then, he unceremoniously tossed him out back into the cold.

"This is your only warning. Never return!" It slammed the door shut, its echoes lonely in the silence.

"What the hell is his problem?" Vanitas cursed, outraged. What did he ever do to that thing? All he had done was enter the castle.

"I'm afraid you came at the most inconvenient time, _mon amie."_ At one of the windows it opened where the little candelabrum jumped out. The little clock was close behind him, his little legs flailing about at the height. They hopped over the windowsill to land delicately outside. "Forgive our prince, _monsieur_. He is normally more courteous to others when he throws them out."

"So I caught him on a bad day?"

"Make that a bad _week,_ " the clock corrected. "Ever since these boxes have appeared, nothing but misfortune has befallen this castle. The master has done his best to attempt to solve this, but it has only caused more trouble. Especially where it has affected his most treasured possessions."

"That creature is the master of this castle?" Orion asked.

"That doesn't give him the excuse to be so rude," Vanitas said, roughly dusting off the sand on his clothes. "Sure, I'd be pissed if my possessions were messed with, but I wouldn't throw out innocent strangers! What was so important he's got his panties in a twist?"

The two enchanted objects glanced at one another, carrying a silent conversation in a single moment.

"Why are you here, _monsieur?_ What is your name?" the candelabrum asked. "I am Lumiere, the royal _maitre d'._ My companion is Cogsworth, the head servant."

"You're servants? But you're…" He gestured at them. If they were really servants of the castle, he wasn't sure how that worked. How could they hold important jobs when they were merely a few inches tall?

"We are not mere inanimate objects. Once, we were human like you. Now, after one night many years ago, we were cursed in this form. This whole castle was affected to appear as it does now."

"That sucks." Vanitas knew how awful it was to be cursed. Twice, he had watched Caelum get cursed to nearly lose his heart during their journey. His sympathy eased his irritation. "My name's Vanitas. I'm here investigating these blocks. They've appeared in several different places like over here. If I can, I'll get rid of them."

"You can fix this?" Cogsworth gasped. "Why didn't you say this first? Perhaps then the Master will calm down!"

"I didn't know your master would get pissed off at me."

"I'm certain he will feel grateful once you fix this problem," Lumiere soothed, trying to calm their annoyance at one another. "In fact, I believe we will invite you to stay at the castle as a guest of honor once you help poor _Mademoiselle_ Belle from this as well."

Vanitas' interest was piqued by a woman's name, but, in light of what was happening, he filed that tidbit away. A cursed castle and enchanted servants were far more interesting. It also seemed that if he fixed their problem, he could find a way to the next world and find his friends.

"It would be nice if you invited me in now," he said. "How am I supposed to fix your problem if I'm not allowed inside?"

"Do we really need their permission to enter this castle?" Orion inquired.

Vanitas shushed him as quietly as he could. He agreed that asking permission to be inside the castle was stupid. However, it would make it easier to move around freely. As long as he avoided the gruff master, he could go through the castle without worry. Then again, he would waste time trying to sneak around-time he refused to lose anymore.

The tiny hands on Cogsworth's face scrunched.

"Only the Master can invite guests into the castle-"

Lumiere cut him off, shoving him to the side.

"But, for you we will make an exception," he finished.

"The Master-"

"Won't know I'm here," Vanitas interjected, interrupting him again. "I promise to stay out of your Master's sight. Just get me in undetected and he won't see me at all."

 _As if I have a choice._

It was either hide or get mauled by a hybrid beast. It would be hilarious to see the beast try to rip him apart but not for him at this point.

Cogsworth regarded him, taking him in from head to toe. His nose wrinkled at his hair, and Vanitas flattened it self-consciously.

"If anything happens," he warned to both him and Lumiere, "if the Master even so much as catches a _whiff_ of _Monsieur_ Vanitas, _you_ will be held responsible!" He jabbed Lumiere in the side like he had done before.

"Of course! I will gladly take responsibility. _Mon amie_ , you should have faith in our young friend here. He will ensure this castle returns to normal before anything can happen to the ro-"

" _A-puh-pup!_ " Vantias raised an eyebrow at Cogsworth's sudden shushing. Frightened lacquer eyes were wildly searching behind him. It was like he was looking out for the Boogie man in the shadows. " _Monsieur_ Vanitas, we will show you another way inside. Come along!"

Cogsworth released his fellow servant and began to waddle around to the side of the castle. Lumiere fixed his candles back in place. Smiling up at Vanitas, he said, "Let us make our way, then, yes? Time waits for no one!"

"Yeah…" He wasn't sure what was going on in this castle beyond the whole 'curse' going on. Again, he didn't bother to ask. It wasn't any of his business. If something happened while he was here, then it would become his business. He hoped it never came to that.

He wanted nothing to do with curses. He already lived one.

* * *

xxx

* * *

The alternative way into the castle turned out to be through the servant's entrance. The entrance, like back in Cinderella's world, was next to the kitchen. Cogsworth walked in first as a clear sign Vanitas was with them. He wasn't sure what he was expecting within. Like Cogsworth and Lumiere, the servants were inanimate objects. He was guided through the kitchen, so it wasn't a long stay for Vanitas to grasp how many people had turned into enchanted objects. What he saw was that the head chef was a giant metal beast of a stove while the dishes were all bathing in the sudsy sink. A few peered over the edge to stare at him. Thinking nothing of it, he waved. He didn't expect for them to giggle and dive below the water.

This had to be the strangest curse he had encountered yet.

Cogsworth led him through the servants' quarters along with Lumiere. Through the halls and stairs that were decidedly less extravagant than the public hallways, they passed a collection of servants cursed in the form of daily objects. Mops, brooms, furniture, and other things passed them. All would stop and stare at him but a warning glare had them scurrying off to finish their chores.

Vanitas never had an issue being different from others even when it came to appearances. Except for his eyes, he was considered good looking and was never ostracized for it like Caelum was. Being born an albino, his friend had to deal with being called a menacing ghost. But, being the only human in the castle couldn't be compared to that sort of name calling. He was self conscious among these enchanted objects and it made him uncomfortable. He rubbed his arm, trying to shake off the blatant staring.

The stares followed him through numerous hallways and two flights of stairs. Walking through one final hall, they ended up in a passageway where various open windows looked down on the Entrance Hall.

"Here is where we leave you," said Cogsworth.

Vanitas took one look at the hallway and saw why Cogsworth took him there. Being the second level, he had a clear view of the Entrance Hall. He could see the castle doors to peer down at the grand staircase for any sign of people. It would give him a clear warning about who was coming.

"This is good enough, I guess."

"I am sorry this is the best we can do for you, Vanitas," Lumiere genuinely apologized. "If we could, we would personally escort you. However, the Master would be livid if we were to do anything more."

"I don't get it. If your Master is such a jerk, why are you guys serving him in the first place?" Vanitas couldn't understand how these people served and (in Cogsworth's case) respected such a temperamental master. The curse was good enough reason since they had nowhere else to go in their state. Other than that, he didn't know why they bothered with him at all.

"The Master is not as terrible as he seems," Cogsworth replied. "In the past he may have acted as you have said, but he has recently changed. He can be kind and considerate if not a bit awkward given the circumstances."

"Love can do that to a person," said Lumiere with a teasing grin.

" _Love?"_ Did he hear that right? Vanitas was so caught off guard he laughed. "You're joking! A guy like that actually fell in love?"

"As unexpected as it seems, yes, he has. He has fallen in love with a charming young _mademoiselle_ and he is a better person because of it."

"Speaking of this young lady…" Cogsworth cleared his throat and sniffed, straightening up importantly. "We mean to ask a favor of you. In exchange for inviting you inside our home, we wish to ask you to visit her."

This request made Vanitas calm down. He could feel Orion peeking his head over his shoulder in interest as well.

"Why can't you guys do that yourselves? I don't have a lot of freedom to move around like you two do."

The two shook their heads.

"I'm afraid we cannot do that. Since these infernal blocks have appeared, the Master has had Belle locked inside her room to keep her safe. He has ordered us to not release her or speak to her in fear she will convince us to free her."

"Damn."

" _Mademoiselle_ Belle does not deserve to be locked inside her room like some sort of prisoner, but what else can we do?"

"It is for the best," Cogsworth soothed the lamenting Lumiere. "If _Mademoiselle_ Belle knew what was happening within the castle, she would head straight for the danger. She would only cause more trouble for the Master."

"That sounds a lot like someone I know," Vanitas chuckled. Arty, whether she knew it or not, tended to cause more trouble in her attempts to help recently. It was why he was so worried about her sometimes while, usually, she could take care of herself. If this Belle was like Arty, he was sure he was going to like her. "Sure, I'll go check up on her. It's the least I can do since you went behind your master's back to get me in here."

The relief the two servants expressed was evident as their little bodies became animated. Vanitas hadn't noticed until that moment.

"Thank you, _Monsieur_ Vanitas! You have our utmost gratitude." Lumiere hopped along to the window facing the far left where they had entered from the right. In one impressive leap he landed on the ledge, using on arm to point towards the staircase. "Belle is currently residing in the Eastern part of the castle. Her apartments are further in and her bedroom, where she is currently being held, is the last door on the right."

"There will be a wardrobe standing in front of Belle's room," Cogsworth added. "That will be Madame Gardrobe Armoire. Tell her I asked you to see her and she will allow you passage."

He opened his mouth to comment on the name (because, really, a woman turned into a wardrobe and had _that_ kind of name?), but Orion pulled on his hair again. He was sick of him doing that and he casually put his hand on his neck and flicked it backwards. Orion made an indignant noise that he covered up by saying, "A wardrobe named Madame Armoire. Got it."

The two were none the wiser at the conflict happening right behind his head. They accepted it without hesitation.

Cogsworth suddenly began to chime, much to Vanitas' amusement.

"Don't say a word," he warned him, sternly glaring at him. "Lumiere, we must be going. I must prepare the Master's dinner and _you_ must return to your patrols. The Master will not approve of you leaving your post."

Lumiere waved off his concern with a flamboyant gesture.

"If he does catch me, then I will tell him I was assisting Fifi in cleaning."

"Yes… _Cleaning."_ Cogsworth rolled his eyes in disgust. He waddled away back towards the servants' quarters.

"Such an uptight gentleman, wouldn't you agree?" Lumiere responded loudly enough for his companion to hear. Cogsworth faltered in his stride, then renewed his pace swiftly. Vanitas fought back a grin and failed. Lumiere had the same grin, winking at him. "Be careful, Vanitas. These halls are quite dangerous."

Then, he hurried off before Vanitas could reply. That was happening a lot.

Once the coast was clear, a tiny electrical current shocked Vanitas' ear. Orion flew out to hover close to his face. He was no longer sparkling a sweet gold but a garish red.

"User, do _not_ do that to me again," he threatened. Or, it would have been threatening if his voice wasn't so high pitched. Vanitas couldn't take him seriously like that.

"Then, don't pull my hair," he said. "I might not be in a real body, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when you pull my hair."

"If you stopped making useless conversation, then maybe I will stop!"

"What useless conversation? You mean talking to people?"

"Yes! You say you want to meet with Lady Arty as quickly as possible, yet you waste time speaking to people that have _nothing_ to do with our goals!"

"So you want me to stop being human?" Vanitas exclaimed, incredulous. How stupid was that? "What you're telling me to do is next to impossible. I have to make 'useless' conversation to get the information we need to move forward."

Orion didn't seem to get that he always got through worlds by interacting with the inhabitants. Not only was this a way to get information on things, it was also a quick way to gain their trust. Interacting with others was one of the aspects of being human.

"You don't have to waste time having conversations when you can simply find the information yourself," Orion countered blandly. It grated on his nerves.

"That will take too long! Plus, I'm looking by myself! It's not like you've been helpful!"

"Are you implying my method is inferior to your's?"

"Maybe I am!"

At his raised voice Orion's lighting became brighter.

"I'll have you know Lady Arty has upgraded me to have a flawless search protocol to aid her in developing her program!"

"Flawless doesn't always mean useful."

The soft _thunk_ behind Vanitas stopped the arguments in its tracks. He whirled around to where he knew a stack of gray and red blocks were to find someone was there. A black-cloaked figure was half hidden behind the stack, their arms frozen in a raised position. It was like they were trying to catch something because there was little treasure boxes at their feet. The figure didn't move, but Vanitas had a feeling they were staring at them.

Although the cloak made it impossible to know who they were, Vanitas had a feeling he knew who this was.

"Aren't you that girl I met in Twilight Town?" he questioned. He was almost positive this was the girl who saved him in that Heartless battle earlier. It may have been impossible to consider, but he was certain he was right.

"Maybe? I think I remember seeing you there." When she spoke Vanitas' gut feeling was correct. It was the same voice, albeit much quieter and subdued. Her arms dropped to her sides, her charade broken.

"You think? I literally just saw you an hour ago when-OW!" He cursed as Orion pulled on his hair again. He tried to swat him, but the AI dodged. "What did I just say about the hair pulling?"

"You aren't supposed to tell other people about worlds!" Orion scolded, buzzing around his head like an annoying fly.

"She's from another world anyway! What does it matter? Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" he asked the girl.

"I, um…I don't know." She was sheepish in her admittance. "I just sorta woke up here a few minutes ago. Down that way." She waved further down the hallway where it curved. "For your other question, I don't really remember a lot. I remember being in Twilight Town fighting that giant thing with you, but that's all I can remember from before or after."

Vanitas was unsure of what to make of this. Earlier, he had wondered how that girl, who may or may not have been an Organization XIII member, admitted she didn't know how she got there or even remembered anything. What was going on?

"Nothing at all?"

She shook her head.

"None. Except, maybe, my name? I think it might be my name."

He knew this was a matter he shouldn't be involving himself in. There was no reason for him to associate himself in another's amnesia case after he had gotten over his. Yet, this girl's very appearance was an enticing mystery. This was no random coincidence she had appeared before him for the third time. She had something to do with this. All he needed to do was figure out how.

Regarding the girl once again, he made a quick decision.

"What might your name be?"

"…Xion," she said after a moment of consideration. "My name is Xion."

"Then, Xion, it's nice to meet you. My name's Vanitas." He smiled and gave her a wave.

"Um, you, too." Her hand jerked up to copy his movement. "Who's your little friend?"

"This guy? This is Orion. Don't pay attention to anything he doesn't understand. He's not really a people person."

"I can't understand anything he's saying, so it's fine."

Vanitas paused at that. She couldn't understand Orion? She had to be kidding. Although, her mannerisms were nothing but honest up until now, so she must have been telling the truth.

"I should have told you this before," said Orion, having since calmed down from his temper tantrum, "but no one else except you and Lady Arty can understand me. To everyone, it will sound as if I am emitting bells. She designed my body based on the fairy life forms she had seen in one world. The bells I am emitting is their language."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"It seemed obvious."

His hands clenched at his bland reply. He was severely tempted to _strangle_ the damn fairy. How was he supposed to know that? He didn't even know what fairy type Arty based Orion off of! During his journey, he hardly encountered any.

"I hate you. Not you," Vanitas added when Xion tensed. "My dumb fairy just told me only I can understand him. I didn't actually know about this."

"Oh. Okay…" Xion seemed as if she wanted to say more.

She never had the chance.

Around them, Heartless popped up without warning. Unlike the previous world, there were several new Heartless. At first, Vanitas thought the armored Heartless was a different color only to see it move faster than normal. It was no bug either. Not only that, there were dog-like Heartless he had seen once in Olympus Coliseum. They were different Heartless, yet they acted fundamentally the same when they sprung into action without warning.

Orion flew back to him as Vanitas blocked a dog Heartless' head butt. He settled into his usual mindset, habitually attacking and blocking. Now that he was getting used to this battle system he found that it was rather simple but opened up an array of combinations to work with. He liked to attack twice regularly, then he used an attack command to deal damage. It also helped that Xion lent her aid like she did back in Twilight Town for the brief moment she was there.

Xion did not change headfirst into the fight like he did. She got away from him to hang at the edges of the battlefield. From a distance, she used low to mid-tier magic spells to defeat the creatures. She was nimble enough to avoid their attempts to hit her. Vanitas had to commend her ability to dodge. If she was slow, Vanitas swooped in to rescue her.

They were a destruction duo that worked well together. The Heartless didn't stand a chance again them. All that was left of them were dropped HP balls and dropped items. He quickly picked them up before they vanished.

"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" asked Vanitas, lowering his Keyblade.

"I-I'm not sure." Xion lowered her head where she would directly look at her gloved hand. "It's kind of like how I know my name. I don't know if I really know my name or how I know how to fight like that, but it feels right. That's the only thing I'm sure about."

"That sounds crazy, but I get it." It was a lot like how Vanitas felt using the darkness for the first time in the past. He didn't know how he was able to use the darkness, but he knew it felt right. It was as easy as breathing. "Are you absolutely sure you can't remember anything? Like what world you're from or where you were before these bugs appeared?"

"No. Why can't I remember anything?"

Sympathy stabbed him right in the heart. A few weeks ago, he was in her position when he believed he was an unwanted orphan boy. He was so frustrated with not knowing and was filled with self-doubt no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise. It was amazing how much he saw himself in Xion in that moment.

Hesitantly, he went up to her to place his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Xion. I'm sure you'll remember eventually. I can't promise you'll get your memories back soon, but they'll come back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I was in the same situation as you up until recently. I lost my entire memory when I was younger. My memory didn't return until a few weeks ago. You're doing better than me since you actually remember your name. I was going by something different before.

"Really?" He nodded. "That…makes me feel a little better. I'm sorry to hear about your memories, though."

"It's fine. I got over it. What are you doing to do now?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not even from this world, I think, and I don't know how to get off it."

Vanitas thought for a moment. He wondered if it was even possible for other data versions to travel between worlds in the journal. It made sense for some like that MCF to move around freely. But, for data like Xion, could they not move around? It wouldn't make sense since she was being moved between worlds without any knowledge of doing so.

"If it's okay with you, you can tag along with me," he offered.

"Really?" she asked, uncertain. "You don't mind?"

"Really?" Orion echoed, irritated. "Why would you do that?"

"Yes, really," he replied to both. "I wouldn't mind the company. Plus, I'll come off as less crazy if I'm talking to you rather than a tiny fairy no one else can understand."

Plus, he added to himself, after hearing Xion's plight and demeanor, he couldn't help but want to help her. She sounded forlorn and helpless. That personality trait was quickly becoming his number one reason to assist girls and women in need. He couldn't help the sudden protective streak he had for females in need. They reminded him too much of himself and he always looked out for himself.

"This is a bad idea," Orion hissed, serving as the little voice in his head that opposed every idea to help people. His light steadily darkened to such a deep red he was almost black. "This person is too suspicious. We don't know anything about it."

His sudden color change made Xion fidget, sensing he was obviously upset.

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's fine. Right, Orion?" Vanitas glared at Orion, daring him to object.

" _Fine!_ Do as you please! I do not care what you do as long as you remember Lady Arty is our priority!"

Orion, fed up with him and his decision making skills, flew back to his hood to sulk. He kicked Vanitas in the nape of his neck-a tiny jolt that hardly made him wince.

"Then, it's decided. You're coming with us," said Vanitas, grinning at Xion.

She relaxed and nodded.

"Thank you," she said in relief. "So we're going to go meet Belle?"

"Looks like it. Let's hurry up and meet her. She must be bored to death locked up in her room like that. I know I would be."

The two of them wandered down the hallway towards the East Wing, both relieved they weren't entirely alone anymore.


	7. A Royal Escort

Chapter 7

The two humans and the fairy slowly but surely made their way towards the East Wing. They had to make sure they wouldn't run into the Beast, so they stayed away from the main halls. It helped that Orion was continuously scanning the area to retrieve a forming map that was transparent right in front of Vanitas. It was a good thing that only he could see the map and not get them lost. Xion was relying on him to lead them.

The roundabout way they took to get to the East Wing was a scenic one. They saw that much of the castle was in good condition. For a vast building full of enchanted objects, they kept it rather clean. It must have been hard work to be able to manage crowded halls (the blocks didn't help at _all)_. They would need to work over time to clean up everything.

It was also during this time Vanitas got to assess more of Xion's fighting abilities. He noticed that she was a capable fighter who, more often than not, relied on magic to fight. He didn't see her pull out any weapon to do physical damage. However, she fought like someone who would do so at close range. Magic users tended to stay at the back of the battle like Caelum. He only headed straight into the fight when he was forced to. Xion would rush head first into the middle of the fray until she remembered she had no weapon. Vanitas had to go out to distract the Heartless to give her time to escape.

After this happened several times, Vanitas had enough.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked after they had taken out a group of them in a decorative hallway. They were not far from their destination with it being two hallways down the right. He wasn't sure what they were looking for, but Orion told them they were close.

"Keep doing what?" Xion panted as she tried to catch her breath. Her hand was on her forearm cradling an injury she received when a Heartless that posed as a stone gargoyle statue ambushed them. It had completely caught them off guard. She had used her arm to block the swinging axe that came for her rather than dash away like Vanitas had.

"You keep rushing into battle looking like an idiot. You do realize you have no weapon but your magic to protect you, right?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I know I don't have a weapon, but it's like a part of me remembers that I fight with one that I don't have anymore."

"We might have to find you one if that's the case."

"How do you plan to do that? We have encountered no shops for you to simply buy from," said Orion, sardonically. He was still upset with him despite how he was willingly scanning the area.

"Maybe we'll find something for you on the way," he said, ignoring the fairy. He grabbed her arm to examine the wound, lifting the sleeve to reveal the red line on her bare skin. Then, he took out a Potion out of his inventory to heal her. The harsh slash ebbed away to leave the arm unmarred. Like what he could see from her lower face, her skin was pale in a way the sun had never touched it. It made sense since she was covered in head to toe. "I think a sword or something light would be good for you to have. You don't look like the type to use big, bulky weapons."

"Do you think?" Xion wondered.

"Definitely. Your arms are all skin and bones. There's not much muscle at all." He squeezed her arms that were stick thin. If she did have some muscle on her, it was impossible to tell.

"We can't all be muscles. And what about you? Your arms are as thin as mine!" She took back her arm, then poked a finger at his bicep.

"Yeah, but I've got a weapon. You don't."

"I know." Her whole body language shifted to where she hunched in on herself. "I'm sorry for getting in your way. You've had to come help me every time."

"Don't worry about it." Vanitas walked off to get back on track. He could multitask. Xion hurried to catch up to him. "I'm used to saving other people anyway. It happens all the time with my friends."

"…Friends?"

"I've got three of them I'm really close to. Their names are Arty, Caelum, and Max. I've traveled with the last two, so I'm used to saving their asses in fights."

"Why did you travel in the first place? Where did you go?"

"Just places." Vanitas cut off that subject as fast as he could. He didn't trust Xion enough to tell her about his journey.

He didn't have to carry on the conversation about it when they entered a new section of the castle. The map that he had open showed that they were officially in the East Wing. There were no defining markers that this was the new wing, however. Just like the rest of the castle, the blocks were stacked and cluttered. It was to the point Vanitas had to destroy them all to get rid of the claustrophobia threatening to engulf his reasoning. Xion also helped with her magic once she saw what he was doing.

"I don't understand why these boxes are everywhere," she said, following him through a high archway. "I don't think these are normal, are they? At least not from what I remember."

"No, you're right. These aren't normal," said Vanitas. They came upon a set of double doors. He opened them without hesitation. "Back in Twilight Town, I was surprised to see these boxes overran the place. Once I defeated the Heartless we saw there, I think everything went back to normal since it was the source."

"So, if we fight a Heartless here, these boxes will disappear and everything will go back to normal?"

"I think so."

"Good. I think the people in this castle have enough problems to deal with."

Vanitas paused, glancing over his shoulder to quirk his eyebrow at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Uh, the enchanted objects and the master of this castle?" She threw out her arms as if the gesture could encompass the grand scale of the place. "They walk and talk like actual people. I overheard them ask you for this favor because they weren't allowed to do it themselves. I don't how how they're all moving objects, but I can tell they have a lot of problems besides these Heartless and the boxes."

"For a girl with no memories, you're pretty observant." He hadn't expected for her to catch that. She only caught his conversation with the head servants. He had to learn about the curse when they told him. She was full of surprises, and Vanitas wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"Oh, thanks!" By her voice alone, he imagined she was smiling or blushing. He wished she didn't have her hood up. He wanted to see her reactions for himself. That initial expression they made to his jabs were always the best part.

When she got comfortable with him maybe she'd show her face.

"I don't think that should be taken as a compliment," Orion said, his ever-present pessimist. It was nice to have someone else be openly suspicious with him. He was beginning to miss Caelum.

"Observations aside," Vanitas continued as if he hadn't heard Orion, "you're right about the boxes. These are annoying enough without some curse in play. We should find that Heartless behind all this as fast as we can."

"But, first, we do the clock and candle's favor, right?"

"Yeah. We should be getting close to where her room should be." According to the map, they were right next to the hallway where Belle's apartments should be. He took a right through another archway framed by two gargoyle statues. Vanitas eyed them, hoping they wouldn't spring to life and attack. The archway opened to a set of double doors, which were almost impossible to spot given how they blended into the shadows.

Through the doors was a drastically different corridor. Unlike the rest of the castle, there were lit candles placed strategically on end tables, the ceiling high windows allowing the moonlight to shine through. Flower vases filled to the brim with roses perfumed the air with the pleasant scent. Vanitas couldn't help but stop to appreciate them. Yet again, he was amazed Arty thought far ahead to include scent into her program.

Orion came out of his hood, hovering at the top of the stairway. He flew in a circle to the left.

"I detect two NPCs this way," he said. "I believe one of them is the woman you are searching for."

"He's saying Belle's close," Vanitas informed Xion, then faced Orion again. "I'm guessing the other NPC is her lady-in-waiting?"

"Yes, but it is strange."

"What is?"

"The NPC, Madame Armoire, I suppose, is exhibiting a strange number pattern in her coding. What in the worlds _is_ that?"

Orion took off before Vanitas could ask any further questions. Seeing his fairy companion acting strange, he followed suit and prompted Xion to as well. They followed the AI around the corner where there was nothing much to say of it save for the doors leading to what Vanitas thought were bedrooms. At the far end on the right was a cream colored wardrobe. That must have been who they were looking for since Orion was fluttering around it as if possessed.

"What's wrong with him?" Xion asked.

"Are you okay?" Vanitas wanted to pluck the little thing out of the air to get him to calm down.

"User." Orion came to a halt, landing on top of the furniture. "There's something wrong with this NPC. The clock and candelabrum said this wardrobe was like, yes?" He nodded. "Then, we have a problem. She is not responding."

Vanitas was unsure what Orion meant by that. Then, he examined the wardrobe closely. It was a finely crafted piece of furniture a few meters taller than him and several kilograms heavier. Its doors were a mint color to match the cream color scheme it had going on. In spite of that, it never looked more than a piece of furniture. Poking it, it did not respond like the other enchanted objects. He went so far as to try to move it but it refused to budge.

"Is something wrong here?" Xion stood back, watching him attempt to move the wardrobe.

"Orion says this is the wardrobe we're supposed to talk to." Vanitas stopped, examining the object again.

"Talk? But, it's not saying anything."

"Hence why there is something wrong here." Orion fell silent. His light dimmed. Vanitas wondered what he was doing when an obnoxious beeping noise rang. Orion lit up again. "She's being affected by a glitch."

"A-There's one here?"

"One what?" Xion tried asking once more. Frustration began to filter through her words at not understanding the conversation.

"There's something here that's stopping the wardrobe from talking. If we can find it, she'll be free."

"Really? Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Spurned on by her words, Orion took off again. He flew back down the corridor where they came from. The two were quick to catch up to him since he had stopped at the stair's lower landing. He made his way to the tiny nook next to the small staircase. When Vanitas drew close to it the steady beeping picked up its rhythm. Vanitas pointed his Keyblade at it. The close contact made the tiny nook crack until bits of computer code appeared. Xion gasped behind him.

"Whoa! What did you just do?"

"The problem should be hiding in here. Xion," said Vanitas as he readied himself to enter. "You stay here and see if you can find a way into Belle's room. The door isn't the only way inside."

"You're leaving me behind? But I want to come with you!"

"I don't even know if it's possible for you to come with me."

"If you don't know, we should at least try."

"I'm not risking it!" Vanitas shouted, silencing her argument. She flinched. It made him regret it. "Look, Xion, there are some places that you can't follow me to. This thing is one of them."

"And why can't I?"

"It's…complicated." How was he supposed to explain that her entire world and being were fake? "I know that you want to come with me, but you can't. Just wait here until I get back, okay?"

Vanitas lifted his Keyblade to the open gateway. Xion started to protest, but he was already being digitized. Just as before, his vision blurred to return to normal in his new location.

He was back in the digital space. Unlike before, where he had first appeared in a dominantly blue space, the room was red. The layout was different as well, the platforms set at varying levels. It appeared that each glitch would have a different variety of levels. Vanitas didn't mind. If he had to go hunting for glitches, he didn't want things to get repetitive.

 _Small miracles,_ he thought as he got to work. He knew that while this was supposed to be a serious venture into cyberspace he didn't want to hate the small colors and patterns each time he did this. He didn't want to forever damn the existence of red and blue. They were decent enough colors.

Vanitas tried not to focus much on his environment as he hunted down the bugs. The glitch itself consisted of two levels, each containing three interconnected rooms. He discovered there was another level only when he had eliminated the first two bugs on the first level, then was forced to go to the second floor to destroy a third-a big bellied Heartless that had a speed a normal one of its type would not contain. Because of its size and the increase in speed, it made it nothing but a nuisance. He had to work to take it down. Several times, his health meter dipped into the red zone. It was all pretty annoying.

He was glad that the only good thing that came out of this was the experience he gained and the new spell, _Thunder,_ he received as an award for getting rid of the glitch.

Once he defeated the bugs, Vanitas was transported back into the castle.

When his feet touched the silky red rug he sighed. He was happy to be back here for all its dank darkness within the castle. Defeating those bugs had done nothing but serve to be an obstacle he had to conquer. Conquer them, he did! And all he had to show for it were better stats and a new spell. He could have done without the snark from Orion, though.

"Once again, you have proven to be adequate at your job. Well done," said Orion, emerging from his hood now that the danger had passed.

"What do you mean 'adequate?' I did the best I could in the situation," Vanitas shot back. "Besides, you weren't the one doing all of the fighting.

"That is why I said adequate. If you did do your best and were at your full potential, then I will praise you appropriately."

"It's never enough with you, did you know that?" Vanitas felt the familiar phrase he often made around Caelum. The more that Orion criticized him, the more thought that Arty might have made her program much like Caelum as well. If he were truly like that in Arty's eyes, he didn't know how his friends stood him. He couldn't stand himself.

"Of course not. You are only human. Your sporadic decisions hinders your ability to perform efficiently in combat. Computer programs will always perform their tasks without fail." Orion turned in a full circle. "Speaking of computer programs, where is Xion? I thought she would have finished her task by now."

Vanitas frowned, scanning the hallway. Given how angry Xion was about being left behind, she would have been waiting to interrogate him about what he did inside the glitch. Or maybe not. He still wasn't sure what to expect from the mysterious girl.

"Xion?" he called, hoping the girl would respond. When no one answered he made his way up the stairs back to the hallway. Orion landed in his hood so he didn't have to walk. His footsteps were loud as he ran to where Madame Armoire was glitched out. When he got closer he spotted the black lump lying in front of her. "Xion!"

He ran to her and fell to his knees at her side. In his frenzied mind he examined the hooded girl carefully for any injuries. He found none. He took the chance to wake her up. He shook her shoulder roughly to rouse her as he called her name. His efforts weren't wasted when she began to stir.

"Van…? Is that you?" she slurred to garble her words. She sat up slowly and her hand touched her head. "Why am I on the floor? How did I get here?"

"I was about to ask you that. I came back after fixing the Armoire problem to find you on the floor. Did you finish what I asked you to do?"

"You finished it already? But, you just went into the hole now, didn't you?"

"No, that was awhile ago. I've been gone for almost half an hour," Vanitas replied, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Are-Are you sure? Does that mean I blacked out after you left?"

"It looks like it." He stood and held out a hand for her to take. Xion took it. Back on her feet, she smoothed out the back of her coat like most of the girls Vanitas had dated did with their skirts. "Are you feeling okay? It's not normal for you to black out like that."

"I'm not sure. I feel fine right now." She patted herself down to prove her point. She paused as her hand pressed against her chest. "Van, do you think my black out has to do with why my memories are gone?"

"Who knows? If it happens again, we'll think more about it. For now, let's focus on Belle."

"I will begin to make notes of her oddities," said Orion, climbing down from his head. "This behavior is not normal in this environment. When we meet with Lady Arty I will be sure to discuss this matter with her."

He nodded at the same time as Xion. While he wanted to believe that the girl was innocent in all of this, he still was cautious. Dressed as an Organization member, he had been trained to be on edge whenever he saw it. When he reunited with his friends he would ask for their counsel.

Pushing all oddities aside for now, the two faced the enchanted wardrobe. Upon closer examination, Vanitas was happy to note that she was no longer frozen. Instead, she was slumbering away, her eyes closed and lightly snoring. He decided to be the one to end it. He used a finger to poke at her door on her chest.

"Excuse me? Hello? Wakey-wakey!" He continued to poke at her, slowly raising his voice. His poking became more aggressive until it felt like he was about to poke a hole through it. He was about to punch a hole through it instead when the snoring halted.

The wardrobe yawned, slow and long, as she roused herself from a deep sleep. Vanitas stopped poking her and took a step back as she shook herself.

"My goodness, what a way to wake up," the wardrobe, Madame Armoire, commented. She opened her eyes, which was located above the chest doors where the decorations would normally be carved. They blinked slowly as she took him and Xion in. "Young man, were you the one who was so rudely poking me?"

"Why do you think I'm the one who did it? Don't you think she's the one who might have done it?" Vanitas was offended that she automatically called him out on it. Why did everyone accuse him first whenever something went wrong? Was it the gold eyes?

"Vanitas!" Xion gasped, affronted.

"I'm serious here! There are two of us here and she accuses _me?"_

"That's because you're the one who did do it!"

"Sorry to interrupt your lover's spat," Madame Armoire interrupted, ignoring the way they both yelled, " _We're not lovers!"_ and simply not caring, "but why did you wake me up? And how did you get here without alerting the guards?"

"The head servant, Cogsworth, sent me," Vanitas replied as he fought down a blush. "He and Lumiere wanted me to come check up on Belle. I'm also supposed to help her out of her unfair house arrest."

"Really? Cogsworth sent you?" They nodded. She let loose a long relieved smile. "Oh, thank heavens! I thought no one would come to help Belle. We know that the Master means well. Out of us all, he is the one who cares for her the most. But, to keep a free spirited girl like Belle locked up like this is cruel."

"That's why we're here to help," said Xion, bouncing on her heels in her enthusiasm. "Now can you please let us through?"

"Yes, of course!" The wardrobe moved out of the way as she shuffled to the side. She settled in a spot right next to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'll catch up on some more shut eye. With all of these Heartless in the castle we all have to patrol. My shift is due to start soon."

"Sure! Sorry for disturbing you. Sweet dreams!"

The wardrobe gave Xion a sleepy smile. Then, her eyes slide closed and she went right back to sleep. Vanitas grabbed the door handle and was unsurprised to find it locked. He summoned his Keyblade to deal with that. With the door open he threw it wide and stepped in alongside Xion.

The room they entered was every bit as remarkable as the rest of the castle. It was a large place that could have been a living room. The king sized four poster bed was parallel to the fireplace that radiated a warm blaze to chase away any chill. There were a few feminine touches to the room such as the various flowers in vases in bloom. Vanitas was amused to find a book lying on every flat surface. It looked like someone was a book worm.

The book worm herself was pacing by the floor length window next to her bed. Her hand was raised to her mouth, her thumbnail caught between her teeth. At their entrance she stopped. Vanitas' breath stopped. Wow, she was _beautiful._ Her chocolate brown hair was pulled away from her face into a low tail, the blue ribbon matching her dress. She was tall and slim, her curves barely noticeable in her sky blue cotton dress. Just her appearance alone made him swoon.

It was no wonder that her name meant 'beauty.'

"Hello, are you Belle?" Xion asked. She came up beside him when he had been rooted to the spot by her appearance.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" Belle wondered, eying them without abandon. "How did you two get past Madame Armoire?"

"She let us through when we told her Cogsworth sent us." Vanitas mentally shook himself. God, he needed to get his act together.

"He did?"

"Yeah. He and the other servants were worried about you. They think that helping you will also help me get rid of all the blocks in this place and whatever's the problem in this place."

Belle gasped.

"You know how to get rid of these blocks? Can you tell me how?"

"Why do you want to know?" asked Xion. "I'm also wondering why you were locked up in the first place. Everyone else here was cursed as an object, but you're human."

She hesitated, studying them for any signs they appeared to be delinquents. In Vanitas' mind, dressed as they were, they must have looked like troublemakers. He wouldn't have trusted them at all. Belle must have been kinder than him because she nodded.

"I want to know why because I think I know what the problem is," she informed them. She sat on the edge of her bed to settle in for a long story. "It has to do with why I was put under house arrest. When these blocks appeared and those Heartless showed up the Beast seemed to be worried about something. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he refused to tell me. Then, he had me locked in my room under the pretense he was 'protecting me.'"

"If he was protecting me, you don't sound too happy about it," said Vanitas, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Of course I'm no! I want to be able to help when there's trouble around. The Beast is always saving me and protecting me. The only time I was able to do anything to help him was hold back the darkness in Hollow Bastion. Even then, he still had to come to my rescue."

"Hollow…Bastion? You've been there?"

"You know that place?" Belle wondered, taken back.

"Yeah, I've been there. If you've been there to hold back the darkness…" He trailed off. The story of last year was brought to mind. Arty told him about what happened a week before since she felt, to get closure over the incident, she needed to tell him the full story. She explained that for the Keyhole to work Maleficent needed seven pure lights. The only lights that were pure were the seven Princesses of Heart. He had met two of them already, Kairi and Cinderella. If Belle was there as well… "Sorry if I'm prying, but are you a Princess of Heart?"

"Princess of what?" Xion blurted out over Belle's gasp.

"She's got a pure heart," was all Vanitas could say on the matter. He didn't want to go into the logic behind the darkness and the seven pure hearts needed to open Kingdom Hearts, which was the heart of all worlds.

"How do you know that?" Belle didn't sound particularly suspicious, yet he could sense the curiosity filled with nothing but innocence.

"A friend of mine was involved in the incident. You know a girl named Arty?"

"I don't think I do. When I woke up in the Great Hall I was with five other girls. None of them were named Arty. Maybe the Beast has met her?"

"I guess?" He would have been assured if it weren't for the fact something felt off about her statement. There was the possibility she hadn't met Arty. She hadn't returned to Hollow Bastion until well after everything had settled down. Why was it he was bothered by what she said? "Anyway, continue your story. What did the Beast mean by protecting you?"

"He believes that whatever has caused these Heartless to appear might come after me because I'm a Princess of Heart." She paused, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say more. In the end she didn't.

"What's wrong? You look like you have something else to say," said Xion in his stead.

"I'm not sure if I should be mentioning this, but…I also heard the servants gossiping and something the Beast told Cogsworth. When I first arrived here I snuck into the West Wing even though I was forbidden to go there. In one of the rooms I found a rose inside a glass case. The Beast wasn't exactly…happy with that." She shuddered, a flash of fear on her face for a lightning second before it disappeared. "I had nearly forgotten about the rose until I heard Cogsworth mention it. He said he was worried something was wrong with it."

"A rose…Why didn't they say anything to me about that?" Vanitas grumbled.

"Why would they be worried about a single rose?" Xion wondered, bringing up a hand to her chin, or where it was supposed to be.

"I don't know. What I do know is that it's important to the Beast and the servants." Belle abruptly stood. A fierce confidence set her hazel eyes alight. "That's why I have to do something about this."

"You do?" Vanitas and Xion echoed.

"What are you planning to do? They locked you up to protect you." Vanitas was tempted to add, _What could a Princess of Heart like you do?_ Then, he remembered how Cinderella had helped him fight one of his Unversed in the past and thought better of it.

"If they mentioned the rose being in danger, I want to help protect it. I-I know I can't do much on my own. So, I was hoping you would help me protect it? If the problem with the blocks extends to the rose, you could also see if there's something you do."

"No way," Vanitas denied without hesitation. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?" asked Xion as Belle shrank back in his rejection.

"Isn't it bad enough I have you to look after? I'm not looking after a second defenseless girl. Plus, she's a Princess of Heart! My friends will kill me if I let something happen to her."

"I'm not defenseless!" Belle exclaimed, her fire back in place. "Please, all I ask is that you escort me to the West Wing so I can see for myself the rose is safe. After that, you can take me back here and continue your way through the castle."

"See? That's all you have to do," said Xion.

"Why are you agreeing to this?" Vanitas shot her a squinted look.

"Why not? She doesn't mean any harm. All she wants to do is check up on a rose. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"There's a lot wrong there! In case you've forgotten we can't be seen by the castle's master at all. If he finds out we're here, he'll kick us out and we'll never get to fix the block problem here. If she's with us, it'll be that much harder to sneak around."

Xion's resolve crumbled as her shoulders hunched.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but…She's been locked up here when all she wants to do is help her friends. I can't leave knowing there's someone in need. You didn't with me."

"That's entirely different!"

"How is it different? She needs our help! Why won't you help her when you helped me?"

"I-That's-" Vanitas' tongue refused to spit out the true answer. It was different because she was helpless. Other than Vanitas, she had no one else to rely on. Belle had dozens of servants worried about her well being and were willing to break their master's orders to ensure it. Xion had no one but him to rely on. There were a multitude of reasons why. He couldn't say any of them.

Not when Xion's whole stance was defiant and Belle's hazel eyes glanced imploringly at him.

"I'm going to regret this," he groaned. "Fine! _Fine._ We'll help. Just turn off the puppy dog eyes already. It's pathetic to look at."

Both females cheered in their success. All Vanitas could feel was resignation. How could he be so easily convinced like this? He thought Arty was the only one who could do that. He had to be getting soft.

"Great! Then, let's get going," Xion said, far too chipper.

"Thank you, Vanitas." Vanitas removed his hands from his face to see Belle blind him with a grateful smile. It was that along that made him know how he could be so easily convinced.

It was so difficult to say no to a Princess of Heart.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Contrary to Xion and Belle's belief that they would be fine, they were not.

Vanitas had a perpetual glare he couldn't quite get rid of as he climbed a stairway.

"I said I was sorry," Xion apologized. She and Belle trailed behind him at a safe distance away from his explosion zone.

"I don't want to hear it."

"But I'm really-"

"Xion, if you don't be quiet, I swear I'm going to do something I'll regret," Vanitas seethed.

He knew the second Belle said she wanted them to escort her he would be the only one handling the consequences. Both of the females thought they could handle themselves fine in a fight. That was nothing but a lie.

Like Vanitas thought, when faced with Heartless, they did have issues fighting. Xion, at first, did try to look after Belle. Despite how Belle tried her best to stay out of the fights Heartless went after her without fail. It was as if they knew she was a Princess of Heart, whose light was too pure to ignore. It was because of this, Xion did try her best to protect her. However, her magic was not a reliable weapon of choice. While Caelum could handle himself, he had a long staff to do physical damage. Xion had nothing when the Heartless got too close for her to use magic. She ended up using her own body sometimes to shield Belle, resulting in more injuries.

Vanitas had to come to their rescue every single time-all dower mood and a bomb on the verge of exploding. His fuse was on the verge of detonation.

"I told you this would happen," he muttered, violently stomping down the hall. He couldn't muster any concern for stealth. "You don't have any way to protect yourself and _I'm_ the one paying for it. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?"

"You _did_ agree with them, though," said Orion, dully.

"Because I had no choice!"

"You should come up with a better excuse than that. That is the second time you have said that, and I still fail to see how that works."

"Orion, don't make me break you. I have a lot of experience breaking electronics," Vanitas snarled. If he had to hear one more snarky remark, he was going to kill someone.

The program, thankfully, kept his trap shut.

They continued on through the castle in silence. The girls didn't want to anger him any further and walked ahead of him so they wouldn't be near when he finally exploded. Seeing their effort to give him some space, Vanitas tried his best to calm down. He was getting stressed, he knew, from everything that was happening. On top of protecting Belle and Xion he was worried about his friends and their safety. He hated not knowing if they were doing alright or if they were safe in the library. All he wanted to do was get to them as quickly as possible, yet, as he told Orion, he needed to interact with the people in the worlds. Only they could help him get to where he needed to be as quickly as he could.

He sincerely hoped that none of them were in danger. He couldn't bear it if Arty, Caelum, or Max got hurt where he couldn't reach them. After the events of their last journey, he had become protective of them in a way he never imagined. Come hell or high water, he would do anything to protect those three.

The silence did not last for long. Soon enough, they had arrived in what was the West Wing on Vanitas' map. Belle turned a corner where the entrance was located only to come to a halt.

"What in the world...?"

Hearing Belle's gasp, Vanitas and Xion shared a surprised glance. Then, they ran through the archway to see for themselves what could have made Belle react in such a way.

They weren't disappointed.

Once through the archway, Vanitas was quick to spot what was wrong. The West Wing itself was nothing like the set of apartments Belle lived in. It was an Entrance Hall itself-a place that boasted the riches and finesse one could expect before entering the royal suite. It was well-lit for a part of the castle that didn't have any windows. A velvety carpet muffled his footsteps as he ran through. On either side of him, between stylized columns, were suits of steel armor brandishing lances on either side of him. There were six of them in total.

Belle stood a few feet away from him, frozen to the spot as she regarded the odd sight before her. In the next section were dozens of the same steel armor aligned in rows and packed so close together they were like something a child would do with toy soldiers. It didn't seem possible to sneak through them.

Xion came up beside him and came to an abrupt stop as well.

"Well…This is the second weirdest thing I've seen yet," she said in a distant, light tone.

"Were these suits of armor always here?" Vanitas asked Belle as he slowly came up to examine the closest suit.

"No, of course not! There should be only a few guards stationed here," she said, visibly disturbed. "I-I don't understand. Cogsworth wouldn't have so many guards stationed here without a good reason."

"Wouldn't they be here to guard the rose? You did say it was important."

"That may be so, but this is a bit excessive for a simple guard position."

"User." Orion came out to fly into the air. He was shining a steady light. "I think this goes without saying, but those knights are glitched. The source of it is located just outside the West Wing."

"For real?" Vanitas groaned. "There's another glitch here? I just got rid of one!"

"Glitches can appear in abundance in a world. You were lucky to have only one in Twilight Town."

"Shit!"

Xion was quick to realize what was causing him distress. Her head swung from Orion and Vanitas. "Is this another one of those weird things that you have to handle alone?"

"Pretty much. Goddamnit! Orion, go lead me to it!" Vanitas' mood just plummeted further. He jabbed a finger at Xion. "You're in charge of looking after Belle. If anything happens, you better hold off the Heartless long enough until I get back."

She mock saluted.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"What is going on?" Belle questioned, looking lost.

"Don't worry. Vanitas is going to do something real quick to try and get rid of all these suits."

"What is he doing?"

Orion flew out the West Wing while Xion started to explain what Vanitas was planning on doing to the best of her ability. Vanitas followed after the tiny helper, the soft voices of the girls drifting further and further away until he could no longer hear them.

Vanitas went through the same procedure as he did when he proceeded through the previous glitches. He saw that it was getting easier to go through the floors the third time around for the sole reason he was used to it. There was nothing different about the glitches except for the amount of floors he had to travel up and how many bugs he needed to eliminate. As always, Orion was kind enough to tell him how many bugs were on the floor as well as the total amount he had to destroy.

With them working together it didn't take them long to clear out the glitch to fix it. By the end of it, he had gone up several levels as well to bring him up close to hitting the double digits at the solid level eight.

Exiting the glitch, Vanitas was once more in the West Wing. He glanced at the direction of the armored soldiers and was thankful to see they were nowhere to be seen. The few were around were at their stationary positions by the walls to flank whoever dared to enter. This was where he found Belle excitedly but cautiously examining the knights. Something about this made him worry.

"Belle!" he called as he jogged over to her. "Where's Xion? Why isn't she with you?"

"I don't know where she is," Belle admitted. Her lips were set in a confused downward tilt. It wasn't much of a frown and more of a pout. "When you suddenly disappeared to fix what made the soldiers stand like that Xion was gone as well. I called out for her and looked around the hall, but she was gone."

"Why would she be gone?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe she had gone to check the other parts of the castle for a solution if your method did not work."

"Why would she do that?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't have trusted her at all," Orion growled at his earlobe. "If she does not listen to your requests at all, then she had little thought of you. We shouldn't have brought her along with us."

Vanitas shook his head, mentally cursing himself. While he didn't want to believe there was the possibility of Xion ditching him or using him, he had to concede that Orion had a point. Xion could have faked her amnesia to trick him into pitying her. Then, when he slowly fed her information she decided to leave to pursue her own goals. After all, the fact that she had appeared out of nowhere in both Twilight Town and then the castle made him ignore it entirely.

 _God, he was idiot._

More than anything, he was embarrassed that he would be played for a fool. He knew better than this.

"Don't worry," said Belle, drawing his thoughts back to the present. She smiled with a reassurance that he couldn't feel. "I'm sure your friend is alright. She seems like she's a capable enough girl. If she runs into trouble, I'm sure she's alright."

"That's not what I was-" He began to say, but he stopped himself. Belle had already trusted Xion and thought the best of her. All he could do was think of the worst. He decided it was best if he didn't break that trust. He couldn't hurt a Princess of Heart like that. "I think you're right. We should move on, though. We can't stand around here waiting for her when we've got little time to check up on that rose."

Belle agreed that it was for the best. They were on an urgent mission after all.

Vanitas, Orion, and Belle continued on their way through the West Wing. Without the suits of armor obstructing their path, all Vanitas had to do was destroy the blocks around them to have some semblance of open space. Belle was leading the group, or so Vanitas let her believe. She power walked with a purpose, her strides coming in a staccato beat that was easy for Vanitas to follow. Her footsteps always came to a halt whenever they encountered Heartless, which were few and far between the closer they got to what he assumed was the Beast's apartment rooms.

The end of their journey came when Belle turned to a particular hall. It was here, unlike the rest of the pristine and somewhat worn castle, they found gouges on the walls as if an animal was raging, swiping them in a fit of anger. The curtains were in no better condition and were torn to shreds.

"I'm guessing we're close?" Vanitas studied the long scratches that split the wallpaper apart. Given the size of them, the Beast must have been the culprit. He could remember those same claws had been on him. If the Beast wished it, he could have torn his virtual body to ribbons.

"Yes. His room is at the end of the hall," said Belle in resolute conviction. Vanitas ignored how some syllables shook.

They came to a stop before the ornately decorated door. Claw marks surrounded the doorknob. Vanitas finally took charge and had Belle stand behind him in case something jumped out at them.

Orion made his appearance to land on top of his hand resting on the doorknob. "If you're worried about anyone being in there, then allow me to soothe your fears. Besides an unusual source of energy, there is no one within the next room."

"What did your little fairy say?" Belle asked in anticipation. When Vanitas relayed the message she sighed in quiet relief. "That's good. Then, we will not have to worry about getting caught."

He wished he could have the same relief she felt. He knew to never let his guard down and was always ready to jump to run away-an ingrained muscle memory that refused to leave him.

With some of the tension gone from them both Vanitas turned the knob and threw open the door. They hurried inside in case the Beast did decide to grace them with his presence. Scanning the room, it was just as Vanitas expected.

Like the hall, the room was in disarray. There was once a beautiful four poster bed situated near a mantelpiece only to have been utterly decimated in a fierce animal's rage. Its curtains and covers were nothing but ruined pieces of cloth that were, oddly enough, gathered in bunches. Near the collapsed feet was a single open space that looked as if a dog had settled there. Above the mantelpiece was a painting framed in what appeared to be real gold. It appeared to be of a young blond haired man, but the claw marks that raked across it made it impossible to pick out defining features. All Vanitas could make out were cerulean eyes peering back at them.

"Lovely place he's got here," said Vanitas, lifting a hand to cover his nose with his sleeve. The air was scented with an odor not unlike a barn's. It was both nostalgic and a bit overwhelming.

"When you're cursed to appear like a beast for ten years of your life it makes sense you'd be spending it like one," Belle replied, smiling weakly. It fell away as she spotted something at the back of the room. "There it is!"

She darted for a single wooden table near the French doors leading to the balcony. There was nothing on it-no tablecloth or chairs-save for a rose encased in a bell jar. Vanitas wondered how he didn't notice that in the first place. It was difficult to miss the ethereal glow that emitted from the rose in the dreary place like a lighthouse on a foggy sea. Its silky petals surrounded the floating and probably enchanted rose.

Belle reached a delicate hand out to touch it but stopped at the last second.

"What's wrong?"

"The Beast was…upset the last time I tried to touch the rose. I'd like to try to try and protect this at all costs, but…" She retracted her hand to press against her chest, cradling it. It was a touchy subject.

He could relate to what she must have felt. After he finally stopped living on the streets, he didn't know the meaning of gentle when it came to other's delicate belongings. The first time he tried to touch a glass figure of a castle that Liam owned he was yelled at by the man. Vanitas couldn't understand what he had done wrong until Arty pulled him aside and told him, in a rueful voice, that it belonged to her mother. Even though the woman had run off with his money, driving their family into bankruptcy, he had kept something that belonged to her.

He wouldn't understand the thoughts a broken hearted man had at all.

"I think he wouldn't mind this once if you touched it," Vanitas attempted to reassure her. "There's a jar around it, right? As long as you don't take the cover off, it should be fine."

His reassurances didn't seem to work quite that well, so he thought an example would help. Vanitas came up beside her to reach over for the jar with both his hands.

The Beast's roar scared whatever temptation he had to grab the rose. Vanitas drew back his arms and fought the urge to jump ten feet away from the thing. He was at least a foot from it when a swirl of code appeared in the air. It formed a Soldier Heartless. From the way it twitched more sporadically than usual, it was a glitched out one. Vanitas was too slow to summon his Keyblade as the thing lunged at the rose jar like it was a football and dashed away with it in its clutches right out the open door.

"Oh, no! The rose!" Belle exclaimed, moving into action. She startled Vanitas by running after the damn thing as if she had the speed to catch up. Vanitas didn't have the reaction time he would have liked to realize what she was doing.

"Belle, hold on!" He took a step to follow after her. He stumbled in his step when, suddenly, a tremendous roar rocked his very soul from right behind him.

 _"Where is my rose!_ "

Vanitas whirled around and felt as if all the blood had drained out of his body. The Beast had appeared beside the table. The doors to the balcony were thrown wide open, the curtains fluttering in the night. How the hell did he climb up there from a lower level? Whatever questions he had about his entrance vanished as the Beast turned his snarling face toward him. It was then Vanitas realized what kind of situation he was in.

He was inside the Beast's room.

The Beast's rose was taken.

Belle, a woman that the Beast loved, had run after it.

All three facts drew a single conclusion, and it become more certain when the Beast took a hulking step towards him.

 _He was fucked._


	8. The Machine's Rampage

Chapter 8

Vanitas clamped down his intense urge to run for the door. It was difficult when his hands were shaking and his breath was held captive in his throat. If he had the ability to, his hands would be sweaty and his neck would be prickling. He had learned over the years that when dealing with a rabid animal it was best to not make any sudden movement. They never reacted well to that.

All he could do was slowly raise his hands and say, "I'm not the one who took your rose."

Orion tugged incessantly at his neck collar.

"What are you doing? Run!" he warned, frantic.

He didn't heed his advice in the slightest.

"You…How did you get back inside here?" the Beast growled, his upper lip twitching.

"I just did," he answered, shrugging. He stopped as the answer made the Beast's right hand twitch. "Look, you really want to be wasting time interrogating me, or do you want to go after the thing that stole your rose? Belle's going to need our help."

That did it. The Beast's whole body reacted to the young woman's name.

"What did you say? Why would Belle be out of her room? _What did you do?"_

"I didn't do anything! It was her idea to come here-" He stopped himself, well aware he might have dug his own grave.

"You let Belle come here even after I told her not to? Do you realize what you've done!" The Beast let loose a frustrated scream. He took it out on the table that the rose had been on. Vanitas winced as it crashed into the wall. He sincerely hoped that it hadn't been a castle resident.

"I know this looks bad," he said, holding his ground as the Beast raged. "I need you to calm down and follow me. Quit your temper tantrum already."

"Why should I? You come into my home, kidnap Belle, and brought the Heartless to take my rose!"

"Will you shut up and calm down!" Vanitas shouted, his own frustration filtering through. He had never felt like this before. It was like trying to talk to an immature child. Just like with any other child he knew it was better to give up trying to talk to him and move on. "If you're just going to get mad at me, I'm leaving. I have better things to do than talk to you like this."

The Beast stopped. He took a deep breath, forcing his body to loosen and relax.

"My apologies," he said in a formal tone. "I got carried away. I shouldn't be like this when Belle might be in danger."

 _Wow, he calmed down fast._ He was impressed how he could will himself to do that. Even he had problems doing that. Then again, the love of his life was in possible danger. Of course he would calm down.

"It's fine. I get it. I'd be pissed, too, if some stranger wandered into my house like this."

"Trust me. I still am." The Beast lumbered to his bedroom door, his footsteps a heavy thud that began to fade away. Vanitas scrambled to follow after him.

He managed to catch up to him at the bottom of the stairway in the West Wing entrance. That was only because the Beast was standing around, speaking to Cogsworth and Lumiere.

"Master, we're so sorry!" exclaimed Cogsworth. His little hands wrung themselves together. "We did not mean for Ms. Belle to leave her room. We simply wanted to cheer her up!" He stopped his worrying the second he spotted Vanitas. His little clock hands twitched on his face. "Mr. Vanitas, how could you do such a thing! We expected you to ensure Ms. Belle's safety, not endanger it!"

"It's not my fault she's good at persuading people," Vanitas justified. He had a hard time saying no to Princesses of Heart. What else could he do?

"That is not-" Cogsworth began, but Lumiere elbowed him.

"Now, now, _mon ami._ We should have expected for this to happen. _Mademoiselle_ Belle has the uncanny ability to persuade others quite easily."

"…I suppose."

"We'll discuss your intentions later," said the Beast to get them back on track. "Have you seen Belle? Did she pass through here?"

"Why, yes, we did! She passed us as we were going to your apartments to report our patrol." He straightened himself. "She was running after a Heartless that had the rose in its clutches!"

"We came here straight away to tell you," Lumiere informed them. "We are in no condition to give chase."

"Nice work," Vanitas praised. "Did you see where they went?"

To their dismay they shook her heads.

"They were going too fast for us to see. We do not know and will not know until we get a knight's report."

"That will take too long," the Beast rumbled, displeased. He turned on one hind leg to hurry down the hall. Everyone scrambled to keep up with him. "Cogsworth, inform the guards to lock down the castle. Lumiere, warn the servants to hide in case the Heartless become violent. That creature is not leaving this castle with my rose!"

"Yes, Master!" Cogsworth and Lumiere chimed. They scurried off to go perform their given duties. Vanitas was left alone to follow after the Beast through his castle.

"And what will we be doing?" he asked.

"We'll search the castle ourselves for them. I will not stand aside letting these creatures do as they please with my home."

It was impressive how he managed to sound like a general in that moment. If Vanitas didn't know any better, that confidence and self assured stature made him seem a bit like a king in the center of a castle siege. It would make sense how he was the master of such a grand castle that way. For that, Vanitas was willing to assist him. The fact he also cared about his servants' safety was a plus as well.

"You know we would be wasting precious time if we went about things like that, right?"

"Do you have a better idea?" the Beast challenged. Too bad it was one he was lose.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have a way to search for them." Vanitas looked over his shoulder to Orion. "Can you do a scan to find Belle or the bug?"

"Of course," Orion replied. He fell silent to do the scan. As he did, Vanitas and the Beast continued onward. They made it to the first floor of the wing when Orion finally replied. "User, I have found one NPC within this location along with several enemy readings."

In Vanitas' vision, the map popped up in the corner of his eye. He saw tiny circles appearing in one particular room near the castle's center. One circle was white while the rest were red. Being small, he couldn't make out how many red circles there were. The map zoomed in to his current location so he could see again. That was when he noticed the yellow arrow on the floor to guide him.

"Are you finished speaking to your friend?" the Beast snarked, turning a sharp corner to a hidden stairwell.

"He says he can sense Belle and the Heartless in a large room in front of the Entrance Hall," Vanitas said, slightly surprised he knew Orion was in his hood.

The Beast came to an abrupt halt. Vanitas couldn't stop in time and got a face full of fur. He pulled back, gagging at the smell. Ugh, it was like a wet dog.

"A…large room? The ballroom!"

Upon his revelation he went down the steps without delay, skipping a few at a time. He slammed through the door at the bottom and charged through.

"Quickly! After him!" Orion flew out of his hood to go after the Beast. Vanitas had no choice but to hurry.

Vanitas ran at full speed to try and catch up to the Beast. By the time he reached the doorway, he caught a glimpse of his cap disappearing around a corner. Orion swerved around it as well. It was a good thing he didn't have too hard of a time to run given his lack of stamina. Even then, he had his map to guide him. It was mostly this map he used to follow after them. In the map he saw a white dot speed through the castle followed by a yellow dot. The latter must have been Orion.

It took awhile to catch up to them. Vanitas had to take as many shortcuts as he could. Despite the winding hallways and stairs ( _why were there so many of them)_ , he jumped over railings as well as the steps to get to where he needed to be. It was actually ridiculous how he disregarded his safety for speed. He was so thankful that fall damage wasn't a thing that Arty added yet. When he finally did reach them he was on the first floor where he had originally entered the castle.

He got there in time to witness the Beast crash through the double doors in the grand staircase's center with a battle roar. Belle's scream added a layer of harmony.

"Beast!"

In an instant Vanitas summoned his Keyblade. He picked up his pace, never pausing in his stride, and burst through the doors. On the way in he heard Orion gasp by him on his way in. He ignored it in favor of paying attention to the problem at hand.

The room he had entered was indeed a ballroom just as the Beast said. The ballroom had to be the most extravagant room in the building. It could easily host a a ball given the size of it but seemed too extravagant for anything but a symphony concert. Vanitas could only note the sleek marble floors and the floor-to-ceiling windows in the back of the room before all of his attention was drawn to where the Beast was completely annihilating the gathered Heartless.

They were there in the center of the room like a swarm circling them. Belle was in the middle huddled into a ball to make herself smaller. If she were trying to be small, the Beast was trying to be a spectacle. He never stayed still in his rampage against the home invaders. He was a blur of fur, claws, and teeth, using his giant paws to swipe them out of midair. It made Vanitas think twice about joining the battle until he counted dozens of Heartless in the room. The Beast couldn't fight them all on his own.

Vanitas readied his Keyblade and joined the fight without hesitation.

He went in, thrusting his blade at one Heartless wielding a stone axe. It bit into its stone side, chipping it away as he repeatedly thrust and swung at it while dodging its own attacks until it was destroyed. He did the same with the others. The Heartless that appeared in the room were the Gargoyles that gave them so much trouble throughout the world as well as the speedy Soldier types. Not to mention the big fat Heartless that made him want to pull his hair out. Why did they have to appear in every world he was in? Did they have to be the bane of his existence? He absolutely hated dealing with them.

It showed his frustration when he took it out on the big bellied Heartless. They were his next target after destroying a good number of the Gargoyles as he charged in, sliding behind one with practiced ease. Without remorse he attacked its exposed back. It took a simple two-hit combo as well as a few deck commands to take it out. He did the same with the other two lingering in the room.

When he took it out, out of the corner of his eye, the speedy Soldiers crept into his vision to sneak their way around the Beast. They made a break for Belle.

 _No, you don't!_ Vanitas had enough of their shenanigans. They were getting on his last nerve. He dove for them, slipping between them and Belle. He unleashed a _Thunder_ spell that he had received as a reward from a previous glitch. Along with a single sword strike he took out the annoying creatures.

"You're in big trouble, Ms. Belle," he said, glaring at the curled up girl behind him.

"V-Vanitas," Belle sighed, the tension leaving her shoulders. She moved to uncurl herself but flinched as a fireball passed over her head. It was far too close for comfort.

"We're talking about this once I'm finished with these idiots!"

That was his only warning he had for her as he dove back into the fight. With his annoyance levels at a moderate high he attacked the Heartless with a ferocity that matched the Beast's. Between the two of them, the dark creatures were quick work. It became easier for Vanitas when his level went up in the middle of it and granted him a strength point. He could hit just a bit harder now and, even though it was small, it still made a difference in the long run.

Their numbers went down from sixteen to eight, then to four, and finally to zero on Vanitas' last _Strike Raid,_ eliminating the wretched Gargoyle that was the last one standing.

The ballroom fell dead silent with a peaceful ease. The battle had to make the room so loud on the acoustics. The abrupt silence was a welcome change. It meant the area was safe again. The Beast sensed the same.

"Belle," he called, striding to the girl. He nearly towered over her, reaching one paw to help her up. Then, he stopped and took a step back, thinking better of it. "What were you thinking? How could you run off like that after that Heartless?"

"I know I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." Belle unfurled herself like a shy blossoming flower. As she did so, Vanitas realized why she was in such a position in the first place. He thought it was her unconscious need to protect herself. What really happened was that she was protecting the rose bell jar in her lap with her body. It was pressed against her stomach, her arms wrapped around it in a protective cradle as a mother would with a child.

"You think apologies will take back what you've done? You disobeyed a direct order to stay in your room! What would have happened if a Heartless went after you? What if this boy hadn't come to your rescue?"

"I know that! Stop shouting at me! And I've told you a thousand times I am not a servant you can order about!"

"You need to be ordered around if you continue to disregard my words!"

The two glared at one another. Neither of them were willing to back down. The tension was enough to make Vanitas squirm. He cleared his throat to get their attention before someone tore the other's throat out.

"I think you guys should, you know, calm down?" he suggested. He shrugged at their combined looks. "God, you guys fight like a married couple. No offense, but have your martial spat later."

"Mind your own business," the Beast grumbled, turning his head away. It held no fire he used to fight the Heartless.

Belle, at least, had the audacity to be embarrassed as she blushed a pretty red. "I'm sorry for the way I've acted. You're right. We shouldn't be arguing like this. We have more pressing matters to worry about." She held up the bell jar. "I managed to get this back, but I think that Heartless did something to the rose."

The Beast twitched, head whipping back to zone in on his beloved flower.

"What happened? What did that Heartless do?"

"I'm-I'm not entirely sure what it did. All I know is that it made the rose's decay rate climb. Look." She held up the jar. Vanitas wasn't sure what he should be looking out for. He could see that its petal had fallen to the bottom. It looked like it was wilting right before their eyes, shedding one petal in exactly one minute.

"Is that supposed to be happening?" he asked as the Beast made some kind of distressed noise in the back of his throat. That said it all. "So I guess not. I've been wondering this, but why is this so important to you guys? It's just a rose."

"It's not just a rose. It's-" The Beast glanced at Belle. She met his blue eyed gaze, quizzically tilting her head. He swallowed. "It's everyone's last chance. This rose is important to everyone in this castle. I won't say much, but I can tell you if this rose loses all of its petals, our lives are over."

"Is it connected to the curse?"

"How do you-"

"Considering how you're obsessing over it now and how your servants are just worried about it, I connected the dots," said Vanitas. He spent much time around a girl like Arty whose mind ran faster than his own. He quickly picked up the habit to try and figure things out for himself so he wouldn't be left behind. "I'm not sure in what way it's connected. I don't really care what's going on other than how it affects me. It's strange for a Heartless to target it."

He wasn't an expert on Heartless behavior. He doubted that anyone would be as crazy as Xehanort to try and study them. What he did know of them was that for a Heartless to grab such a beloved object it had to be connected to the world in some way outside of being obsessed with darkness.

"User," said Orion, flying to him and their group. He landed on the crook of Belle's arm where the bell case rested. Pressing a hand to the glass, his light dimmed. "I do not wish to alarm you, but this is the main glitch affecting this world. I can sense the same sort of entity we encountered in Twilight Town."

 _And there it is._

"You're sure about it?" he asked.

Orion didn't need to answer. He pulled up his map to display what he could possibly be seeing. On it was an angry jagged mark over the location where Belle was. It was obvious how this was a glitch.

"What's wrong?" Belled asked, glancing between Orion in fascination and Vanitas in worry.

"Don't freak out," he said in a manner that would definitely make them do so, "but your rose is the source of the Heartless appearing."

"How can that be?" The Beast's nostrils flared, his big blue eyes narrowing at Vanitas. "I haven't let anyone touch it before now."

"I'm not sure myself. I can tell you that it is. Did anything weird happen when those blocks appeared?"

"I think there was something I found strange," answered Belle, thoughtful. "I was outside in the garden reading when I think I fell asleep. When I woke up these blocks had already appeared. What about you, Beast?"

"I-I was on my way to see you, Belle," the Beast replied, almost suddenly shy. "I was hoping to ask you more about what you thought Paris was like this time of year. However, one moment I was descending the main staircase, and the next I was waking up on the ground surrounded by these blocks and that the Heartless had infiltrated my castle."

"A blackout…That sounds similar to what Axel had experienced in Twilight Town," Orion noted, a hint of suspicion making its way into his speech pattern. Vanitas was getting used to hearing that around Xion. This time, he knew he had reason to believe him. "Do you think these incidents are connected?"

"If they aren't, that's one hell of a coincidence." To have both Belle and the Beast black out just like Axel had was too much of a simple coincidence. Something had to be done. "Belle, Beast, I think I know how to solve all of your problems in one go."

"You do?" the couple echoed in unison. They glanced at one another when they did so. Then, they quickly glanced away. The Beast ducked his head, visibly embarrassed while Belle was smiling, a blush dusting her cheeks in a light shade.

"You two are disgustingly cute," Vanitas blurted out without shame. "I need to leave before you two start making googly eyes at each other. I'm getting out of here."

These two were going to make him sick with their obvious flirting. This was one of the reasons why he despised being around couples so much. It made him want to be in a relationship of his own. He needed out of this world _now._

Vanitas leveled his Keyblade's tip to the rose case. Orion flew back to his hood as he tapped it. A bright thin light shot forth to connect to the jar. A brilliant blue doorway appeared next to the group, leading to the heart of the world. He waved to the couple, winking at Belle, and then dashed through the doorway where he knew he would going into a fight.

It took only a moment for the system to transport him through the glitch to reach its heart. His vision had gone dark for a short time, then had filled with color. His feet touched the ground as he took in the location he was brought to.

He had arrived in what he could assume was a bridge. It was built over a huge rocky chasm where, if he squinted, a tiny river ran below. The moat circled around the Beast's castle as the first line of defense. The second happened to be the wooden gates that led to the castle's main structure. It made sense that it would have a moat. However, of all the places why would the glitch lead him there?

Vanitas examined the area once more to figure out where the main bug was hiding. He paused upon spotting a black clad body lying at the foot of one of the creepy gargoyle statues stationed at the bridge's halfway point. Only one possible explanation popped into his mind.

Without thinking he ran to the prone figure. He was about to get down to help here up, but halfway there, the body had moved to sit up and shake their head.

"Xion! Hey, are you okay?" he asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

She stood on unsteady feet.

"Did I black out again?" she faintly asked. "And where...where are we now? This doesn't look like the castle."

"You're half-wrong and half-right. We're outside the castle's main structure. As for your blackout, you didn't. You disappeared."

Her hood turned to him. It was disorienting he couldn't see her eyes at all to know she was staring at him.

"I...disappeared? I don't understand. How could that have happened? The last thing I remembered was standing around with Belle while you went off to do your thing."She gripped her head with both of her hands. "I don't understand. Why is this happening to me? Vanitas, is...is there something wrong with me?"

He was unsure how to tell her that her very presence was wrong somehow. She was an Organization member, which meant she was possibly a Nobody. Their very existence was unnatural. However, he didn't know if she knew about Nobodies or if she even remembered she was an Organization member. He didn't want her to remember if it meant he had to fight her.

A sudden rumbling interrupted any chance of explaining anything to her. It came out of nowhere, hard and fast, to make their knees knock together. Xion, still physically weak, fell against him. Vanitas somehow stood his ground through it all. Just from the vibrations it felt as if they came from far away and it was rapidly approaching like a stampede. It was coming from the other end of the bridge where the ramparts were.

As he thought this, a huge mysterious object rammed straight through the gates. The iron gates went flying to disappear in the moat below. His jaw dropped at the huge thing that had torn down a good portion of the wall as if it were made of paper.

There, at the other end of the bridge, was a hulking monster of a machine. It was a giant box-shaped wooden beast on four black wheels positioned like they would be on a car. Its entire front side resembled a face with a large, red, jagged mouth, its yellow lips on its lower half, and a black forehead edged in silver accents. Its eyes above the mouth were an eerie gold like the moon. The Heartless crest lay between its eyes. On top of it, surrounded by handrails, were three smaller Heartless wearing silver armor and had on helmets. In their hands they wielded what he recognized as bows. It made his knees knock together at the sheer size of it.

On top of the machine the archers readied their bows, glinting arrowheads aimed at them and the castle gates behind them. The metal 'mouth' of the machine opened wide, an orange spark on the verge of igniting within. Bombs tumbled out the size of boulders towards them as the arrows left their bows.

Vanitas didn't bother to waste time for words as he pushed Xion away. She yelped, stumbling and losing her balance. He brought up his Keyblade like a shield to block the attacks. The bombs exploded on contact, yet he did not take any damage. Ah, invisibility frames. Where would he be without them? His elation at being immune plummeted as the other bombs and the arrow rain had hit the wooden gates. The doors creaked, shaking violently enough they looked to topple over.

"The Heartless are trying to destroy the gates!" gasped Orion. He did something to make a new bar appeared in the upper righthand corner in his field of vision. It was yellow and slowly depleted getting chipped away by the arrows raining down on it.

"I guess it's bad if they manage to destroy them?"

"Yes."

It's always something, isn't there?

He wanted to scream at the Heartless for being so complicated. Just once he wanted a giant Heartless battle to be simple. Why could he never have that?

"Xion, they're after the gates!" he cried, diving forward while arrows flew above him. "Take out the archers!"

"Got it!"

"And stay back this time!" was his last warning before dashing forward to attack the machine's opening. He swiped his Keyblade high so the teeth raked across it and slashed down. His jumping allowed him two full combo attacks without any retaliation.

He went for a third when a few arrows came down on him. They stunned him long enough to knock him back down.

"Will you stop doing that!" yelled Xion. A fireball whizzed past to blast one of the archers into smoke. Shaking his stun lock off, he glanced over his shoulder. She jumped for joy. "Take that! Don't mess with me!"

That joy didn't last for long. Vanitas turned back to the machine at the faintest creak and suddenly found a giant mallet descending on him. He rolled sideways startled, the mallet smashing into the bridge. It retreated back into the machine.

"Pay attention!" Orion chided as he fought his heart down his throat.

"Sorry." Vanitas grimaced. He took the chance to use his _Quick Blitz,_ silently scolding himself. He needed to stop getting distracted by Xion. Instead, he should focus on something more important like distracting the machine and its archers.

He did his best to be in the firing line for the archers while he did damage. He tried to be quick about it. Trying to keep to the ground helped him to easily block the arrow barrage when it came. While he did this, fire spells came from behind to take pot shots them. He might have been locked onto them but he was certain they were taking damage.

The machine's mouth opened once again. Vanitas halted his assault, landing taking several steps back. Suddenly, bombs flew out to roll towards him. He hadn't anticipated them at all and was too late to dodge. One managed to hit him head on. The blast was instantaneous as it seared his HP away down to a sliver. His vision went red blaring repeatedly enough he could have had a seizure. It was difficult for him to make out where the rest of the bombs were heading.

"Van, heads up!" Xion exclaimed.

He managed to clear his eyes to raise his hand. Something landed in his palm, smooth glass a balm on his rough callouses. He popped the cork to down it in one shot. His HP rocketed back to full again. Vision cleared, he brought up his guard again for the duration of the attack.

He regarded Xion swiftly dodging the bombs out of the corner of his eye as she shot several fireballs at the archers. Soon, the bomb attack ended and she was free to blast away the rest of the archers. They went up in flames and vanished into smoke.

"I got'em! Yes, I did it!" Xion laughed, pumping a fist in the air in victory.

Vanitas would have joined in until he noticed that more archers appeared to replaced them. Xion's own victory was extinguished when they aimed their bows at her, letting loose a volley of arrows she had to throw herself in one direction to avoid.

"Okay, that's not fair!" This was the part of his usual giant boss fight routine where he would fight the main Heartless without any issues of interference. Why was this boss demolishing everything he knew? He threw his Keyblade in a _Strike Raid_ to hit one of them, taking a chunk of its health. That pissed him off even more.

While he was busy fuming over the Heartless breaking conventions, the Heartless' opening widened. Out of it a long wooden log slid out with the flat end jutting out. He wasn't sure what it was doing. Grinding gears revved inside the machine, churning unpleasantly, left an omen he couldn't shake off. Then, it surged forward without warning.

They never saw it coming as it ran them down.

Again, his health bar took significant damage as it dipped into the red, his scream drowned out by the internal alarms. He could almost make out Xion's shout joining his own. Once the stunlock wore off, he downed one, fumbled to take out another Potion and threw it back to Xion, who was helplessly resting on her knees in her struggle to stand. She managed to catch it and drank it.

Vanitas put a hand to his aching head. That hit a lot harder than he had thought. He would have to make sure that didn't happen again or defeat it before it could. To do that he knew that they would need to take out the machine, not the archers, like he thought. They were going to waste time if they did that. They were only going to respawn.

"Take out two of the archers!" he shouted to Xion, surging forth to attack the machine. He sidestepped and rolled away as arrows began to fall from the sky.

"Why not all?" Xion asked where she had ended up at the side of the bridge to avoid the arrows.

"Just do it!"

"You don't have to-"

Whatever she was about to say was drowned out, screeching hinges interrupting her. The machine forth a huge cannon the size of an growing elephant. Vanitas' breath caught in his throat. He brought up his guard as quickly as possible as lead cannonballs blasted forth. Against all possible logic, they dealt absolutely no damage. Poor Xion was left screaming, forced to slip between the small cracks of space before they rammed into her.

Neither of them took damage, but they hadn't accounted for the gates which had.

"What in the worlds are you doing?" Orion yelled, making his ear ring. "The gates will be destroyed at this rate!"

 _I know!_ Did he think Vanitas didn't know that? Everyone was so useless! The cannon fire ceased and he attacked the machine in new fervor once it was in between attacks. Weaving through the arrow rain, he used a _Thunder_ spell to do some damage to all the enemies. In the corner of his eye at the enemy health bar they had been diminished down to the halfway point.

Who knew how satisfying it was to see that?

Now that it was down to half the machine started to change up its attack pattern. It brought out the battering ram again. This time, Vanitas was prepared. He rolled over to where Xion was quickly swallowing an Ether behind a gargoyle statue, pressing his back against the cool marble. Xion peered around the corner, throwing out her hand to summon a spell. She blasted the charging machine with a Blizzard, icing the front of it. She back back behind the statue when it rushed forward. It stopped just short of the gates, then backed up to charge again.

They ran back out, each yelling a battle cry, to smack the Heartless and electrocute the archers respectively. Between the two health bars, Vanitas watched one archer's HP drop to zero while he got the machine's bar down to the last two that it had. They were almost there.

The machine opened the maw again with another attack. Vanitas and Xion backed up, the latter inching towards the edges in case she had to hide. The giant mallet was brought out as the attack this time, emerging to smash in front of Vanitas. It was close enough to make him stagger. His legs turned to jelly, a chunk of his health gone. Shouting, he frantically tried to run away.

"Van, above you!" Xion screamed.

He felt her warning before he could comprehend it. Arrows fell on top of him, each one slicing his HP to bits. He had no time to guard against them or the hammer that slammed down at his right. The shock wave took the vast majority of his health away.

 _Oh, fuck!_ Vanitas couldn't breathe as he rolled backwards, scrambling to get out of the frontlines. He needed to heal! He was so panicked he lost his footing, vision dying the world red. Yelping as he hit the rough bridge, he lost his grip on his Keyblade. It clattered and skidded from his grasp far out of his reach.

"User!"

"No!"

He snapped his head up and saw pinpricks of wood swiftly falling towards him. Vanitas attempted to summon his Keyblade back to his hand, but he knew he wouldn't be able to guard in time. It was too late for him.

Suddenly, a black blur passed him, metal chains knocking together like a wind chime, wielding a gold and silver blade. It zipped between the arrows and jumped high.

" _Fire!_ " Xion chanted. She pointed the tip of Vanitas' Keyblade at the archers as she reached the height of her jump. Out the tip erupted a giant fireball-far larger than what she could make on her own. The fireball hit true to incinerate it completely. She gently landed a little ways from Vanitas, turning to jab it in his direction. _"Cure!"_

A soothing green light surrounded him. His health shot back up to full and the alarms died.

He got to his feet, stunned by Xion's sudden abilities. Satisfied that he was safe, she dove back into the battle. Shaking off his initial daze, he got up to do the same.

Now their roles were reversed. As Xion was the one charging back into the battle, Vanitas was the one forced into a supporting role. He kept an eye on her as she hacked and slashed the large machine-like Heartless. She was relentless in her attacks, never failing to stop her momentum. She ducked, thrust, and guarded against all attacks that came her way. When the arrows came plummeting from above she would easily roll forward and was back on her feet in one seamless move as if she were a born acrobat.

While she was busy doing that, Vanitas kept to the fringes of the fight, zapping the archers with his singular _Thunder_ spell. Because of the cooldown effect, he could use the command once every fifteen seconds and was forced to sidestep and duck beneath bombs, arrows, and hide from battering rams. He was worse than Xion in the fact he was useless with his one spell arsenal. He made a mental note to change his commands before entering a boss fight.

Throwing himself to the ground, crouching in a roll, he noticed the machine wind up another one of its attacks. The appearance of the mallet made it evident what it was about to do as Xion was landing on the ground.

"Out of the way!" he cried in warning. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her feet touch solid ground while the mallet was coming down on her. He knew what was about to happen, yet he couldn't remove his eyes from the inevitable trainwreck this was about to become.

Expecting her to get flattened, Vanitas was astonished to see her manage to jump high, half of her body phasing through the mallet. He wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. A glance at Xion's HP bar, which was handily scanned by Orion to appear beneath his own, told him that, no, it wasn't a trick. She hadn't taken damage from the attack at all.

It didn't seem to matter to Xion when her body was back to being solid. High in the air, she let loose a strike, then a thrust, and finally a downward slash she put every ounce of strength in, shouting when the blade came down in an arc over her head. Each hit cut into the Heartless' health and finally became nonexistent as the last slash brought it down to zero.

Somehow, she had managed to take out two whole HP bars on her own with that attack.

"Holy shit," Vanitas gasped, unable to move from his spot. His eyes were glued to Xion the entire time. His heart stopped as she landed before the disappearing Heartless. Bits of data and numbers floated into the air like little bits of dust flying about. She straightened herself, holding his Keyblade much like Sora would.

"Quite," said Orion in a perfect tonal imitation. "I find it odd she is able to wield the Keyblade when it is not a part of her code. I wonder what this could mean?"

 _Same here,_ he thought. In real life it was impossible for people to wield the Keyblade. The weapon chose its wielder, not the other way around. In this data world it should have been impossible. Only two people in this world should have been able to even hold it. _Then, why can Xion hold my Keyblade?_

The girl was nothing short of a conundrum. She blacked out several times, she had no memories except for her name, and she could wield his Keyblade. All of these facts would have made her untrustworthy if it weren't for the fact she was so sincere. She honestly had no idea why all of this was happening to her. It didn't help that she was so scared of herself that he couldn't help but believe her.

That didn't mean with this new information he could trust her. Oh, he could pretend for her sake, but that didn't mean he actually could.

Getting back to his feet, Vanitas approached Xion. As he did, something fluttered down from where the Heartless had been defeated. Xion bent over to pick it up, but he had reached it. Automatically, the papers were pulled towards him so he had them in his inventory.

 _Entries Get!_

Great. More useless papers. He really needed to take a look at the papers sometime soon. They had to be of importance if they were showing up all over the place.

"Hey, Vanitas! You're okay?" Xion asked, coming up to him. She held his Keyblade loosely in her hand almost like she was used to its presence. "You really worried me. I thought that Heartless was going to crush you."

"If it weren't for you, I might have been squashed like a bug," he consented. "Thanks for that, by the way. I didn't think I'd be able to fight after you grabbed my Keyblade."

"Oh, that's right!" She held up the blade to him offering the handguard to him. "I'm sorry about taking your weapon from you. It's just...I couldn't help but take it when you were knocked down. I was so tired of being useless in a fight that I felt like I had to do something."

"That's fine. I have a question about that, though. How do you know how to wield the Keyblade?"

She tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean? Didn't you say that I would know how to wield something like a sword?"

"Yeah, but not _my_ sword." He carefully took his Keyblade back from her. He was comforted by the familiar weight in his hand. "The thing about the Keyblade is that it doesn't like to be wielded by most people. In fact its' the worlds' pickest weapon. So, that leaves the question: why are you able to wield a Keyblade like you've used it your whole life? And it needs to be better than an excuse like amnesia."

"I-I don't know what to say," she replied, shaken by his aggression. "All I can tell you is that it felt natural for me to hold it. My body moved like I knew how to use it. I can't tell you much more than that."

"That doesn't make sense! If you know how to wield one, you should be able to summon one." Xion had to have had a Keyblade of her own. No amateur would know how to do a move like a Strike Raid. It took skill to summon back the blade instinctively. So Xion must have had a Keyblade of her own to be able to pull off a move like that.

"You're asking all of the right questions," said someone standing further behind Xion. "That's good. You're not as hopeless as I thought."

Vanitas didn't need to look to find the MCF had joined them. Xion jumped, whirling around.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Did you call me hopeless?" he exclaimed.

"I thought with your identical appearance to Sora you might have shared the same denseness he has," the MCF said to him. "I'm glad that doesn't seem to be the case. I have no time to hold your hand through this."

"Is there a reason why you're here or did you come all this way to insult me?"

"I thought you might have liked to see the fruits of your labor. You spent so much time to defeat all of the glitches in this world. I thought you would want to see what it amounted to." He held up his hand to bring up a large window like one would find on a computer system. Xion gasped beside him, but he refused to look away. The window revealed the castle's interior-mainly the Entrance Hall. It was no longer filled to the brim with the multi-colored blocks. In the hall stood the Beast and Belle while Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Madame Armoire. The Beast and Belle stood close to one another, speaking softly. There was no audio, so they couldn't hear what was being said. Their actions did for them.

Belle held out the bell jar case containing the Beast's precious rose. Her whole body was tense, her head down in a rare act of submission. The Beast did appear intimidating, towering over her, yet he didn't explode into that ever present rage beneath his kin. All he did was take the case, his own head bowed in apology. They exchanged words for awhile before they lifted their heads to make eye contact. Then, Belle placed her hands over his paws on the rose, smiling as she said something. The Beast slowly returned the smile, and Vanitas thought it wasn't as terrifying as he thought.

Something inside him clenched, an empty space forming in his chest at the sight.

"What are they doing?" Xion wondered. "I wonder what they could be saying."

"I am confused as well," said Orion in a moment of confusion. "By all rights, the Beast should be displeased with Belle's behavior. He seems almost happy."

While the two were openly confused, Vanitas felt like he was intruding on a private moment, a sick voyeur peeping into an intimate couple. He shouldn't be seeing their lovey-dovey moments. It reminded him of things he yearned for himself. It was clear that the two cared deeply for one another.

"I'm not surprised you can't understand the feelings they share," said the MCF to Xion. "After all, what could a Nobody know of love?

"What did you call me?" Xion exclaimed, affronted.

"A Nobody. A shell of a person who knows nothing of emotions. Then again, something like you, a being with no memories, can't even remember the echoes of such things like emotions."

"Damn, you're being more vicious than usual," Vanitas remarked as Xion became still. "Are you finished picking on innocent girls or are you going to spout more cryptic shit to me?"

The MCF chose a third option. He summoned a dark portal beneath them. Vanitas sensed it too late until gravity failed them. Xion let loose a scream and they descended into darkness, leaving that world behind.


	9. The Labyrinth of Heroes

Chapter 9

Vanitas was starting to hate dark portals after the second time he was shoved through one for the millionth time. Then again, maybe he just hated the MCF for shoving him through them.

The dark portal was merciful for once as he didn't have to wait too long before hitting the ground. Unlike the courtyard in Beast's Castle where he fell on pure stone he fell on gravel. At least it didn't hurt as much. He didn't get to celebrate for long as a heavy body toppled him. Their impact knocked out some of his HP.

"Oh, my God," he groaned. What was it with people landing on him? Was he just some designated cushion? He hoped not.

"Oh, no!" Xion gasped. She scrambled off of him as quickly as she could. "Van, did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!"

Vanitas sat up, subconsciously rubbing his ribs even though nothing on his body could break. "You couldn't help it after taking a fall like that. I'm fine."

"I never thought we'd just be shoved through a portal. Who the heck was that guy, anyway?"

"I have no clue. He's been showing up everywhere I go."

"Does he always say such creepy stuff like that? Nothing he said made sense at all."

He shrugged.

"I'm getting used to people being cryptic. I'm just glad that this time I'm not hallucinating or seeing things." He was all too used to his enemies being cryptic. He figured it was basic villainy to taunt the heroes through their cryptic words. After all, he had done the same thing to Ventus and Aqua. He was happy that someone else noticed the cloaked figure that followed him and wasn't his darkness personified.

"He didn't have to be so rude," Xion commented. "Where did he bring us to, anyway?"

Once Xion rolled off, Vanitas slowly sat up. He winced as his back throbbed horribly. While he put his hand on the small of his back, he took note of their new surroundings. He was pleasantly surprised to find they stood before a grand marble structure, two bronze statues the size of skyscrapers flanking stone doors as the warriors they were. Stylized columns surrounded the area they were in where several braziers burned bright in the otherwise deserted courtyard.

"What do you know? I know where we are," he said as he stood, brushing the dust off his dark clothes.

"Do you?" Xion got up as well to pick at her clothes, humming in disappointment she was unable to clear the dust away as easily as he did.

"We're in Olympus Coliseum. My friends and I visited this place once." The last time he had visited the world the Coliseum was completely destroyed by a giant multiheaded monster. He didn't have the best memories of the place, that was for certain.

"You did say that you traveled a lot before. Why do you think we ended up here?"

He was about to reply when, suddenly, Orion flew out of his hood. Buzzing around his head, he was hummingbird on a sugar rush.

"User, good news! Sora is in this world!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, seriously?" As the AI bobbed in confirmation, Vanitas sighed. "Thank goodness. We don't have to waste time trying to find him anymore. Does that mean we'll be able to catch up to him before he moves onto another world?"

"It appears that is the case."

"That's great!"

"What's great? Who are you talking about?" Xion asked, impatient."

"I came here to find a guy named Sora. He's the reason why I'm here in the first place. He looks exactly like me, but he's got brown hair and big blue eyes."

"Sora...Why are you looking for him?"

"He might have a clue to where I can find my friends. They went missing awhile ago, so I came here looking for Sora. He was the last person they contacted before they disappeared. I was hoping that meeting him could help me figure out where they went."

"So you were looking for your friends," she said in finality as if she had solved an epic mystery. "I was wondering why you were traveling through different worlds in the first place. It makes sense now. So it's good that Sora is in the same world as us?"

Vanitas nodded, jogging over to the Coliseum doors. Xion was quick to follow.

"User," said Orion before he opened the door, "I should mention now that there is a massive glitch enveloping the world. There is the possibility we will need to enter this glitch ourselves if we wish to meet him."

"I see." That wasn't much of a surprise. Sora, no matter how old he was, never failed to head into danger if it meant helping someone in need. It was one of his better qualities. He relayed an edited version of Orion's words to Xion. "With that said, you okay with heading in with us?"

"I can really come with you this time?" she asked, astonished.

"I don't see why not. I might need your help," he admitted. In the previous glitches he had been fine on his own because they were short. This time, considering the glitch's size, he would need all the help he could get.

"Then I'll do my best." She pumped a fist in the air in her own private victory. To think she had wanted to follow him inside a glitch that badly.

Her excitement was palpable as she pushed open the front entrance, a spring in her step as she went.

"Do you think that is a wise idea to bring her along?" Orion asked once she was out of earshot. "Residents in the Datascape can never know that their worlds are made of data. Not only that, Xion is an anomoly in her own right."

"I know that. I'm more worried about whether something weird will happen when I open the glitch's doorway."

"You are referring to Xion's behavior, correct?"

"Exactly." Both times now she had acted odd whenever he opened the gateways to them. She had often been relocated elsewhere without any knowledge of doing so. Once, he could have written off; twice, it could have been a coincidence. Should it happen a third, then he knew there was something seriously wrong with Xion.

After all, anyone who had the ability to wield a Keyblade was suspicious in his books.

"I will make a log of her disappearances," Orion offered. "I believe Lady Arty may find an interest in this once she discovers it."

"You do that."

Vanitas ended the matter as he pushed open the door, heading within.

Unlike the last time he had been in the Coliseum, he did not enter the hallway that led to different areas. He was taken straight to the lobby area where the compeititors would wait or sign up before entering the arena. The lobby was just like a regular waiting room-small and intimate. On the shelves were trophys of past tournaments, a signpost hanging next to the exit.

By it stood a pudgy ginger-furred satyr and tiny horns on his round balding head. He was mumbling to himself as he paced before the doorway, his hooves clacking on the stone.

"...taking too long? I knew I shouldn't have the kid go in there," he rambled to himself. "Heck, I shouldn't have made Herc go in there either. This was a bad idea. What am I gonna do?"

Vanitas and Xion looked at one another. At least, he assumed she had shared a look. Neither seemed sure they should approach the satyr. He decided to do it since he knew the guy in real life.

"'Scuse me," he called, stepping forward. He raised an eyebrow as he nearly jumped, tripping over himself as he turned around.

"Wh-How did you get outta there, kid? And what's goin' on with your hair?" Phil asked, bewildered. Then, he shook his head. "Ah, never mind that. Did ya manage to find Hercules? Where is he?"

"What?" Vanitas was puzzled, wondering why Phil believed he would have his star student with him. Then, he remembered he didn't look that too different from Sora. "I think you've gotten me mistaken for someone else. The name's Vanitas. The girl behind me is Xion. We just arrived here."

"No kidding?" Phil looked doubtful, studying him carefully. "That explains the hair and eyes. I could've sworn you were the kid that just went into the Coliseum."

"Did he happen to look like he was my twin brother?"

"Yeah. Said his name was Sora. He didn't look like much more than some greenhorn that offered to find my student, Hercules. Both'em went into this doorway that leads to who knows where and haven't come back."

"How long have they been gone?" asked Xion as she shyly stepped closer, hovering by his shoulder.

Phil blinked at her, openly astonished to hear Xion's rather cute voice from an unassuming appearance.

"'Bout an hour or so."

"They have been in that glitch for far longer than I believed," Orion muttered, keeping out of sight. "It must be larger than we thought."

He nodded. If that was true, it might take them awhile to catch up to Sora.

Vanitas sauntered up to the arena entrance and pointed his Keyblade at the glitch's gateway. A keyhole, glowing and otherworldly, appeared in mid-air in response to its presence.

He had known it was there since it had appeared on his minimap. A thin light shot out his Keyblade's tip to hit the keyhole. Before he was taken away, he grabbed Xion's arm to make sure she would be taken with him.

Then, he felt his body disintegrate into code. Vision fading, he was transported to a new area.

As usual, it didn't take him long to enter the glitch. When his feet touched ground he did a quick survey. The first thing he noticed was that Xion was no longer with him.

"Oh, for the love of-Again?" Vanitas was ready to tear his hair out. Why in the world did she vanish again? He even had a firm grip on her this time! Now he was certain Xion's very existence had something to do with the malfunctioning computer system. He sighed. "You know what? Forget it. Let's just move on. We'll run into her somewhere."

"That would be for the best," Orion agreed. He came out to lazily float about the place. He flitted around, unconsciously filling in a map portion. Examining the map and his surroundings, he couldn't help think it strange he had ended up in a small enclosure outside the Coliseum. A wall of columns was off to his left as blocks were stacked everywhere. It brought back his claustrophobia to an all-time high, and he needed to destroy them to make it end. Orion examined grey blocks stacked high in a corner. "I can sense Sora within the glitch, yet he is faint. I cannot contact Lady Arty unless we are in his vicinity."

"So I'll have to go off and catch up to Sora on my own." He bobbed up and down in affirmation. "Goddamnit. And Xion's missing on top of that."

He was worried about Xion. Why wouldn't he be? She didn't know anything about how glitches worked. He knew that she was powerful in her own right. Yet, could she take on the Heartless without a Keyblade? He had trouble with them and he had a weapon to fend them off.

He shook his head. He could only hope she was safe. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he focused on their situation.

"Orion, are you able to sense how many bugs are in here?" Vanitas asked, beginning to move through the psuedo-halls that the walls had created. Some blocks were in his way and he had to destroy them to enter the next area.

"It is not that simple this time." Orion flew close to his head-so close he could hear his wings flutter as they cut through the air. "Due to the size of this glitch, there are numerous amounts of levels we must traverse to reach what I believe is the source. There are no bugs in this glitch. Rather, there are the same gateways you use to go up the levels as you normally do."

That was surprisingly convenient. He was worried he would have to spend an unnecessary amount of time defeating Heartless to go up. There had to be a catch here.

"Please tell me that's all. That has to be all."

"Well…." The way he trailed off didn't bode well. A new bar appeared in the top right corner of his eye. "It seems that these interconnected 'halls,' I suppose you could call them, have Heartless hidden within them. There are also some blocks that cannot be destroyed until the Heartless are defeated to a certain point."

Just as he said this, Vanitas walked into the next enclosure. He barely took two steps when, out of nowhere, a fireball hurled towards him. On instinct alone he ducked. The fireball passed safely over his head. Straightening up, he summoned his Keyblade to access the situation. He wasn't sure how, but three fire elemental Heartless in those strange floating jars had appeared overhead. They lazily flew above him. There was no way he could reach them.

 _Why am I not surprised?_ he thought, going through his Command menu to pull out his Thunder spell. He used it to attack the closest jar. The lightning grazed it to make it lose altitude. It managed to fall to his level. Jumping, he attacked with several hits to eliminate it. As soon as his spell cooled down, he used it again twice to get the others.

He thought that would be the end until more Heartless replaced them. Another group of three flower-like Heartless were rooted to the ground. They surrounded him and shots seeds from their mouths to attack him. He guarded against them, then threw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid to hit two in one move. He charged at them, slashing and thrusting, until they were gone before diving to the final one to kill it with a _Quick Blitz._

It was barely up in code bits when yet another group appeared.

Vanitas was forced to battle at least three more waves of Heartless. He wasn't sure how long he fought them, but he did notice the Heartless bar that Orion had made was slowly dwindling down. It changed colors as well when it was down to three-quarters, flashing from alert red to mild yellow. Satisfied he was doing some progress, he continued on.

After awhile, the bar finally reduced to zero. Once the last was destroyed, he waited for a moment, unable to drop his guard. Nothing happened. He relaxed and released a breath.

Dear Light, that was awful. Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade, feeling as if he had battled a thousand Heartless again. He knew it was due to his low level that he felt like this. Were he much stronger he wouldn't have had much of a problem.

"Am I going to have to deal with this in every room?" he asked, taking out a Potion to replenish his healthh.

"Yes, unless you wish to run from them and make your way to the next level?"

"Like hell I'm doing that." Vanitas was neither a coward or a runner. This was a chance to grind for experience and gain a few levels. He needed to get stronger for the struggles that lay ahead him. He didn't want to have to rely on anyone else to save his ass in a fight again like Xion had done earlier. "I'll try to get rid of as many Heartless as I can. There might be something worthwhile in these blocks I could use."

"I agree. Your strength levels are not up to the standards it would take to deal with the enemy levels here. Your Potion supply is also low."

That was about as much of an agreement he was ever going to receive. Without delay he went off to the rest of the rooms to go grind for levels and Potions in this impossibly large glitch.

He began to explore the level. As a precaution, he decided to add a Potion command and added a new command he found, _Aerial Sweep_ , to switch out for _Quick Blitz_. It wasn't doing as much damage anymore when he got surrounded. In this place he needed an attack that would take out multiple enemies.

Exploring the level was a definite change of pace. Although Orion said the maze was similar to a regular glitch, that turned out to not be the case. In each enclosure he had to defeat several Heartless to get the blocks to become breakable. The grey blocks were often unbreakable if the Heartless bar was red and could be destroyed only when it was yellow.

The Heartless themselves were a challenge to deal with. Just as they were in previous worlds they were several levels higher than him. Vanitas had to watch his health carefully to avoid accidentally dying because he thought he could handle more than three or four hits. He was proven wrong when he took quite a few critical hits that nearly killed him. It was also concerning how they relentlessly attacked him never failing to come after him. Somehow he got out of the fights by the skin of his teeth.

He went through the same procedure of defeating them as he did in the first room.

Perhaps it was the perfectionist in him that only appeared when he played video games, but he couldn't move through the rooms without destroying all the Heartless there. He loved watching the bar drop to zero especially knowing that his hard work was amounting to something.

He wasn't surprised that, by the time he filled out the current floor's map, he was level eleven.

In the last room of the floor he dispatched the Heartless and was taking out the blocks when he found the gateway to the next floor hidden beneath the stack.

 _That took forever to find_ , Vanitas thought. He didn't think the gateway would be in the last room. He was usually lucky enough to find the bugs in the first or second room in a glitch. Dungeon crawling like this never took very long. _Hope it's not like this for the rest of the floors. I'm going to die from boredom instead of the Heartless doing me in._

He shook his head. What was he saying? His friends' lives were on the line. Level grinding was serious business here. So what if he got bored? He needed to do this.

Steeling his resolve, he touched the gateway to move on.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Vanitas stumbled out the gateway, huffing and puffing for air he could not breathe. He nearly fell to his knees on his new floor that was so frightfully bare except for another gateway and a Moogle that had set up shop. The Moogle gave him a look but remained silent.

"When does this end?" he exclaimed, downing one of his last Potion bottles. His health had been screaming at him for the past minute-starting when he was ambushed on the last floor by elemental Heartless and a giant armored Heartless wielding a shield. The latter was a type he had never encountered before, and it had taken him longer than he had thought to figure out that frontal attacks were ineffective. The attack obliterated his HP to a quarter; one more hit and he would have been done for. He didn't know how he had managed to survive.

"You are incredibly lucky," Orion commented. "I am not sure how you managed to dodge all of those fireballs and ice spells. Is your luck stat high in the real world?"

"I don't know. At this rate I'm not even sure if my luck will last." He took a seat on the ground uncaring to how he might look. After two hours of level grinding, he needed a break.

As he said on the first floor, Vanitas navigated the glitch with the intent to increase his levels. On each floor he took the time to fill out his mini-map as well as destroyed the Heartless in every room. He found that the floors generated random layouts to have high and low foundations not dissimilar to the regular glitches. Sometimes he had to backtrack because the entrance to the room was on a different level.

Mistakes were, unfortunately, made when he had to battle the Heartless. They always went after him at the worst times when his health was low. He tried to keep his HP full, but as he did that he noticed how his Potion supply was depleting. On the various floors he was unable to find that many treasure blocks-only two or three were ever present on every other floor. He had tried to save them but at the cost of fighting carefully.

' _Careful_ ' was obviously not his fighting style.

Vanitas was relieved to discover that every five floors was a rest area. It was a small place just big enough to fight him, two gateways that led to the previous or next floor and a Moogle. He didn't think that Moogles would have existed in the journal. Then again, it did explain why he was also able to collect virtual Munny. He nearly leapt for joy when he saw the Moogle sold not only Potions but new commands. While he could question why a Moogle would have such things, he was just happy to have new techniques.

For the first time in a year Vanitas spent all his Munny to buy commands like _Blizzard_ , _Wind Dash_ , _Sliding Rush_ , and the exalted _Cure_. Whatever he had left went to Potions. He equipped the _Cure_ and _Wind Dash_ to try them out and found them incredibly useful.

Yet, while useful, they didn't make things easier. He had to spend so much defeating the Heartless through fifteen floors and counting. Even the best warriors could be defeated by being worn out. He was becoming fatigued after two hours of non-stop fighting. It was how he had allowed himself to get ambushed like that.

As he rested, Vanitas opened his menu bar to take a look at his status. He eyed his character stats, pleased to find he was at level sixteen. At this level it had gotten easier to take out the dark creatures. His magic was a bit low, so that made it more difficult to use in battle when they barely did damage. It was to be expected. He had sacrificed his magic to have decent defense numbers, which were close to matching his strength. Too bad he couldn't tell when the Heartless hit so damn hard.

He exited the status menu and decided to poke around the menu. This was the first time he had a chance to examine it. He knew the Command and Item menus well, but he didn't know much about the other options. Eyes wandering, he noticed there was another option below his status menu that read 'Entries.' It caught his attention.

This whole time in the Datascape he had been collecting the mysterious entries that disappeared when he touched them. He hadn't known where they had gone. To think they were hidden in his own inventory. What in the worlds were they? Now was the chance to find out. He tapped on the option.

What he found was not what he had expected.

"The hell is all this?" he muttered, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the menu. It had opened up a window that contained texts labeled with numbers. Yet, when he picked the first entry it contained a jumble of numbers and gibberish letters. None of it made a lick of sense. "What have I been collecting?"

Orion landed on his shoulder to read the menu.

"I see you have noticed the entries that you have been collecting," he said. "As you can see, the files have been encrypted. Without the proper program I have been unable to decode them."

"You were never given a decoding program?"

"Lady Arty never saw the need to. Perhaps when we meet with her she can decode the entries herself. After all, I am but a security/search program even if I do have a few add features."

Vanitas understood that. He was alright with waiting until they met with Arty. Until then, he could live with the mystery. He stood, closing the menus entirely.

"Alright, let's get back to work. How much longer until we catch up to Sora?" he asked, making his way to the gateway.

"According to my sensors, he is close. His signature is so strong I believe he may even be on the next floor."

Hearing that made him perk up. He had managed to catch up. Soon he could reunite his friends and figure out how he could get them out of there. He smiled, and touched the gateway to be transported to the next floor where he could possibly meet his friends.

Like the past fifteen times, he arrived on a new floor. Vanitas ended up in a room that also had a higher level to it, several platforms in place for him to jump up them. His Keyblade flashed to his hand. Waiting a moment, he was left in silence.

He relaxed, knowing he wouldn't be attacked by Heartless. At this point they would have ambushed him. His Heartless bar was suspiciously empty, the room clear of blocks.

"Is Sora on this floor?" Vanitas questioned. He made his way to the rest of the area. Making his way through the halls made it clear someone else was there as well. He had encountered no blocks in the rooms that he passed. It was obvious someone had come before him.

"Yes!" Orion's abrupt exclamation was strange to hear. He flew around in a circle above his head. "Sora is on this floor as well. I also sense two other NPCs in the area."

In his mini-map a single circle popped up and began to pulse. That was where he needed to go.

Vanitas wasted no time. He ran towards the circle passing through empty rooms. Sora had to have been there. The map began to fill out, making it easier for him to tell where he had been. His footsteps were the only thing he could hear besides Orion's wings flying above to keep up.

He was two rooms away from his destination when a noise caught his attention. He skid to a halt.

"User, what-" Orion said. Vanitas shushed him. He strained his ears to catch the odd noise. There was silence for thirty seconds. Then, he heard it again.

It was a sharp sound as if stone were sliding against steel to create a lasting screech that reverberated to him. A hoarse battle cry preceded it, coarse stone clanging again and again in the dance he came to know as a battle.

Vanitas turned to his left where the noises originated. He glanced at his map. He knew that it was in a completely different direction than he needed to go, but he was intrigued. Curiosity was rearing its head, pawing at him to go sate it. He really shouldn't listen to it. Sora was so close. He could get into contact with his friends.

But that noise….

His two sides argued and screamed at him to listen to one of them. One side quickly won out, instinct telling him to go do what he thought was best.

Biting his lip, he changed directions to go chase after the noise.

"User?" Orion's voice faded as he left him behind. It was only for a moment. Entering the next room, the fairy caught up to him. He pulled at his hair in an attempt to stop him. "Where are you going? Sora is in the other direction."

"I know," said Vanitas. He ran to the entrance way to his left. The cries and battle noise were louder than ever-so loud it came from the very next room. "There's something here. I think it might be important."

"It could be a trap!"

Didn't he think he knew that? Vanitas swore that this could very well be a trap. Yet, how could he explain his instinct telling him that this noise was important? Would a computer program understand what that meant?

He ran into the next room, line of thought halting. In this room it had a lower level with no platforms to get back up. He stood on the higher level facing the gap where he could drop down. Several elemental Heartless floated at his level in shades of green and blue. Down below he heard a man's yell as steel slashed against stone. Bits of code came floating up.

Running to the edge, Vanitas saw who could possibly be destroying Heartless in an area like that.

Backed against the wall was a recognizable blond spiky-haired man. Although Vanitas did not spend much time with him, he would recognize Cloud anywhere for the fact he was the second person he knew that could wield a giant metal slab he called a weapon. Cloud held his Buster Swore in an attack stance against several Heartless-one of which was that armored shield type. The narrow space left Cloud little room to fight.

Vanitas saw that he was struggling by the injuries he had received. Those injuries, including his steadily bleeding arm and the gash on his leg, were testament to that. A Soldier Heartless tightened itself as it wound its legs in a whirlwind attack. It launched itself at Cloud. He saw the attack and lifted his blade in one seamless move to swipe it aside. The Soldier was vanquished, but the Shield made a follow up attack, thrusting its dog faced shield forward to bash him. Cloud tried to dodge but he ran straight into a waiting Shadow's claws, raking them against his forearm.

Cloud grunted. Then, he slammed his Buster Sword's flat side to push it back. Heaving heavily, he continued to defend against his foes.

Watching him slowly get whittled down by such low level Heartless, Vanitas was tempted to leave Cloud to his fate. Anyone who lost to such weakling deserved to be taken out. The more valiant, honorable side of him, which had been squashed down the second he learned he had been emulating Ventus, yelled that he owed Cloud and Zack. Zack was a companion he felt indebted to and, by extension, Cloud. The two were good acquaintances and it felt wrong to leave a virtual version to die. Arty and Caelum would never let him live it down.

So, Vanitas brandished his Keyblade, leapt over the edge, and joined the fight. On his descent he slashed the green floating jars to stop their healing. They were nothing but code before he hit the ground. Landing behind the Shield type, he unleashed an _Aerial Sweep_ that used his Keyblade as he sprang into the air, swinging it sideways in a full circle to hit its back. He followed up with a few normal attacks and finished with a Blizzard.

It was the spell that did the most damage as its HP was cut down to nothing.

The bulky thing gone, it was much easier for Vanitas to maneuver around. He dove forward to where the Soldiers were surrounding an exhausted Cloud. Throwing his Keyblade, he destroyed them in one fell swoop. With them the already low Heartless bar ran empty.

"That was disappointing." Vanitas clicked his tongue. His Keyblade appeared back in his hand and he tapped its rounded neck against his shoulder. "I thought with how they were giving you a hard time they'd be annoying. Are you really that weak or are these Heartless stupidly too strong for you?"

"I didn't need your help," Cloud grunted. He slowly stood where he had fallen to one knee using his giant blade as leverage. The slight wobble as he did so made Vanitas snort.

"Because you looked like you had it handled." Vanitas rolled his eyes. As usual Cloud thought he could handle things on his own. Tifa, Cloud's longtime friend, told him plenty of stories about him as she awaited his return on Radiant Garden. The guy was the epitome of a lone wolf.

He jabbed his Keyblade at him to cast _Cure_ on him. His wounds closed to leave the blood trails as the only evidence he had been injured.

"I told you I don't need your help. Why did you come back here? Pity?"

"Maybe. You looked so pathetic I-" He paused his incoming tirade to scold Cloud for being an ungrateful ass. His words caught up to him. "I never came back. I just got here. Who are you talking about?"

Cloud silently stared at him to study him. As he did, Vanitas could come to only one conclusion. He was well versed in this mistaken identity game. If he believed he had come back, then that could only mean one thing.

 _He thinks I'm Sora._ He wanted to laugh. Instead of an Organization XIII member, he was being mistaken for a hero. He had to admit it was a welcome change. He opened his mouth to correct him.

Suddenly, the wall next to him crumbled. A large mass bulldozed its way through with a resounding crash. Vanitas threw himself to the side to get out of its way. A flash of a fist whirled from the bull, twirling on his heel to gain momentum. Vanitas made an undignified yell as he ducked down. Above him the wall stood no chance and its broken pieces fell in his hair as it was destroyed.

Vanitas rolled away to bounce back up to his feet to face yet another person from his recent past. Hercules, in his leather toga glory, withdrew his fist from the smashed wall. The Coliseum hero laid fierce sapphire eyes on him. Shards of ice could have been warmer than that look as Hercules' mouth curled into a snarl.

"Are you another one of Hades' tricks?" he demanded.

"That's rude. You could introduce yourself before you demand my name," Vanitas snapped.

"Answer my question!"

"Hercules, is Cloud okay?"

The uncanny voice drew Vanitas' attention to the hole Hercules made. A much smaller person climbed through the rubble, coughing from the dust in the air. When he made his way through his chocolate hair styled exactly like his was the first thing he saw of them. Big sky blue eyes lifted to meet his own.

"Sora?"


	10. Dynamic Synergies

Chapter 10

Meeting another version of Sora was downright _bizarre._

For the second time that year he was meeting a doppelgänger much younger than he had expected. This Sora was fourteen years old. He was an inch shorter and he still had some baby fat on his cheeks. Unlike his black clothes he had gained from three fairies, he wore a colorful assortment of red, blue, and giant yellow shoes. In his innocent eyes reflected the naiveness he once possessed-a time when the novelty of other worlds existed was fresh.

Vanitas and Sora stared at one another in dumbfounded curiosity.

"Um..." The latter glanced between at his clone, then Hercules, and finally Cloud. "Do you know what's going on?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me," he said, lifting his Buster Sword at Vanitas. The blade was long enough to have the tip near his throat. "Alright, start talking. Who are you?"

"I just saved your life, jackass. This is how you thank me?" Vanitas grumbled. This was ridiculous. How could he be so ungrateful? He held up his hands up in surrender so he wouldn't get stabbed. "The name's Vanitas. Yes, I realize Sora and I look identical. No, we aren't related. This is a complete coincidence."

"You know my name?" Sora exclaimed. Surprisingly enough, he was the only one to not appear hostile. Hercules had adopted a fighting stance to attack.

"I do. I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Why?"

"User!" From above, Orion came flying back to him. He landed on top of his head. The others gasped as he appeared. "I can get into contact with Lady Arty and the others now!"

A crackling noise came to life much like one Vanitas would hear on a tuning radio. Slowly, the static faded and voices filtered in. He was certain he was the only one to hear it.

" _-is he even here?_ " asked a warbling voice. " _I thought Chip and Dale couldn't even get through?"_

" _The connection to the outside is weak_ ," replied someone that suspiciously sounded like Riku. " _I don't know how he could have made his way in-_ " He paused. " _Someone managed to link a connection? Who's there!_ "

"Why am I suddenly hearing Riku?" Vanitas asked, placing a hand over his ear to block out outside voices. "Hey, are you the data version of Riku? Put Arty on the line."

 _"Arun, it's you!_ " There was a gasp. " _Wait, Orion is with you? How did you get into the datascape?_ "

Hearing Arty's voice sent wave of relief through him. All tension left his body that was wound tight since they had disappeared.

"It's...a long story," said Vanitas, glancing at the confusion on Cloud and Hercules' faces. "I'll explain later when I'm out of here. For now can you tell Sora I'm on his side?"

" _Hold on. Give me a minute to link your communication lines._ " Tapping could be heard on her end. " _Sora, can you hear us? That boy there with you is a friend of our's_."

"Is he? But he looks like me," said Sora, scratching his head.

" _Aw, that's just the way he looks is all_ ," Mickey answered. Vanitas' eyebrow twitched. Right. He had forgotten they were there as well. " _Vanitas is a good friend. You can trust'im_."

Sora hummed in thought.

"Well, if you say so. If he's your friend, then he's mine, too." He smiled bright as he turned to Hercules. "We can trust him. I don't think he's a part of Hades' plans."

The Coliseum hero glanced at Vanitas, the distrust visible in his furrowed eyebrows. He shrugged in return. He was used to such looks in his lifetime.

"I trust you," he finally decided. "I'm not sure what just happened, but if you say he's a friend then I'll trust him."

"Great! Because I find it incredibly rude you accused me when all I did was help this guy out." Vanitas lowered his hands at the same time as Cloud who lowered his blade.

" _Is he seriously calling someone out for being rude?_ " Caelum snorted. " _Now I know that's Arun._ "

"Can you mute them?" Vanitas asked Orion. As much as he loved hearing his friend's sarcastic remarks, he knew it was going to get distracting.

" _Can you still hear us? Arun, you are a moron for-_ " Whatever insult Caelum had in mind was silenced much to his delight. If only he could mute him in real life.

"Getting back on track," he said to get back to the topic at hand, "mind telling me what's going on here? Phil told me that both of you had vanished into this mage."

"See, it's like this..." Sora quickly explained how he had entered the maze to find Hercules. When he found him the two teamed up, climbing the floors in hopes they could discover who was behind the maze's creation. A few floors below them Cloud had attacked them under Hades' orders. Hades had tricked him and Cloud had taken off. "And here we are. Thanks for helping him out."

"I told you I didn't want any help," Cloud said in a moody sulk. Like an angsty teenager, he hitched the collar of his cape higher to cover his mouth.

"Yeah. Would it hurt you to let us do you one favor?" Sora retorted in an unfamiliar exasperation.

He shook his head, turning on his heel to walk away.

"No matter what I do, I'm letting someone down."

"Cloud, wait," Hercules called. The swordsman stopped. "Whaddaya say we work together?"

The swordsman gave him a brief glance, then turned away. "Why? I attacked you."

"But only because Hades tricked you, right?"

"Doesn't matter. I've got no right to join you. I'm not strong enough."

"Ugh!" Sora scoffed, rolling his eyes in a manner Vanitas never expected. "We're not asking if you're qualified for the job. What do you _want_ to do?"

He was puzzled, eyebrows creasing.

"What he means is if you're dead set against it, we won't force you," Vanitas translated, shrugging. "It beats spending all your time making excuses. Dilly dally shilly shally! Quit messing around and make up your damn mind! It doesn't matter what you did in the past. The best thing you can do now is keep moving forward. Fuck your excuses."

This phrase was one Tifa used to describe Cloud as he meandered about trying to fight Sephiroth. She said it fondly, knowing what her dear friend was going through and making excuse after excuse to justify his actions. Sometimes, she said, all he needed was a push to move into action.

Cloud's shoulder relaxed, evidence that his words struck a chord, and he shook his head.

"I _am_ making excuses, aren't I?" he chuckled. "Man, you guys are gonna be sorry."

"Then you're in?" Sora asked, hopeful and bright.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I need to find a way out of here, same as you. I'm just tagging along until then."

He walked away to the archway out the room. Vanitas, Sora, and Hercules exchanged grins. Just another excuse.

"Whatever, tough guy," Sora said.

"Hey, we can't all be people persons," Hercules commented. "Some folks are better at finding strength on the inside."

"Some folks need to be told to get off their lazy asses and do something," Vanitas retorted.

"There's that, too. Come on. Let's go follow him."

 _This is going to be interesting,_ Vanitas thought as he, Sora, and Hercules followed after Cloud. This was the first time he had to get used to different group dynamics. He had yet to learn how to fight with Xion. Now it seemed he would have to learn how to fight alongside Cloud and Hercules. He was certain he would learn, but he had to wonder how long that would take. _Oh, well. Doesn't matter. I can handle the challenge._

As long as he knew how Sora fought, he would be fine. He was happy he didn't have any useless party members to weigh him down. Newly relieved, they caught up to Cloud and the quartet continued on.

They moved to make their way through the floor in search for the gateway. More than a few rooms were left unexplored, which meant the Heartless popped up to come attack them.

They caught up to the Cloud as he stepped past a new room's threshold. He reached over his shoulder, grasped his blade's hilt, and unsheathed it to hold in a fighting stance. Then, as a Large Body Heartless thrust its round abdomen at him, he took his first step and used the momentum to slice its side, curving it towards its back. Dark smoke tendrils bled from the wound, enveloping the rest of its body. It disintegrated before his eyes. Cloud never ceased his movement as he moved to do the same with the other Heartless.

Unwilling to let Cloud hog all the fun, Vanitas activated his _Wind Dash_ command. He slipped past Hercules and Sora, the air currents he rose harmlessly passed over them, yet became a slashing force to the heartless in range. The elemental jars were knocked back doing mid-air tumbles, while the Shadows and Soldiers fell flat on their backs. He came to a stop, then swung his Keyblade in three consecutive attacks. They fell to his sword, yet more replaced them. They came in a different variety in a mishmash of Large Bodies and Shadows.

He made to go after them as they shuffled to Cloud, whose back was turned, but Hercules, the human fighting machine that he was, went rushing in, a deep-throated battle roar extracted out his chest, as he pulled back his fist. Then, he smashed it into the Large Body. The Heartless went flying, its front rippling as the fat absorbed the worst of the attack. It crashed into a nearby wall. The stone around it crumbled around its vanishing form.

" _Duck!"_ Sora shouted to Vanitas' left. The latter was distracted by Hercules' immense strength but regained his attention. On instinct he ducked down. Something flew over his head, an icy wind a premonition to what it was. Cracking ice came after it hit the column behind him. He thrust out his Keyblade and retaliated by shooting a fireball at the ice elemental that attacked him.

"Thank you!" he shouted over his shoulder before going after more Heartless. He ran to where Hercules was surrounded by Soldiers. The one in front of him pounced on him, claws poised towards his face. The hero raised his arm so they scratched his metallic wrist bracer and batted it away while another one viciously kicked its legs at his side. He managed to dodge that as well. He was so busy with that he left his back open. The Soldier behind him took advantage of that. It lunged at his calves where they would down the hulking human.

Vanitas held his blade in preparation for an _Aerial Sweep_ as he ran in Hercules' vicinity. However, singing metal cutting the air came on fast to his right. He stopped himself and moved his body in the opposite direction, stumbling on his left leg. It was in time for Cloud's Buster Sword to swing sideways at the Soldier and its companion nearby. They didn't stand a chance against it.

Cloud returned to his fighting stance, pulling back his blade, and tilted his head to Vanitas. They locked eyes. The latter made a displeased expression and the former a blank one. The next second, they pulled their gazes away to turn their sights on other Heartless away from one another.

As the four continued to fight, Vanitas thought fighting in a group was much easier for him than it would be on his own. They jumped head first into the fray swinging their chosen weapons to do away with them. While this was one way to fight, they quickly realized it was not the most ideal. They were all front line fighters who were the strongest on their own. Their attack methods were not suited when Vanitas and Sora had to often duck down overtime they were in Cloud's swing range. Though he was nearly invincible, Hercules was not exempt from stray attacks as his bulky figure made it too easy to zap him when he got in the way.

They managed to clear the room when Cloud stopped them.

"We've got a problem," he announced, sheathing his blade on its holder. His sword was so large it couldn't fit a traditional sheathe and had to be held on his back.

"What's up?" Sora asked, healing the burn he had accidentally made on Hercules.

"We need to figure out what skills we each have and what our strengths are. Then, we can somehow make sure we're not caught in some friendly fire."

"I hope that it isn't literal fire?" Vanitas joked, but it was half-hearted. He was still upset Cloud nearly cut him in half.

Cloud shot him a glare in displeasure. "Hercules, Sora, you've fought together for awhile now. How did you two do on your way here?"

"I was on the frontline," said Hercules as he ran a hand down his tender skin. "While I wore them out, Sora would come in and kill them. He also used his magic to heal me whenever I got hurt."

"Isn't that what Vanitas has been doing?"

"I use my magic for offense, though," said Vanitas. He came to the realization that his _Cure_ spell also affected his other party members. This worked in his favor. It meant he didn't have to spam the command to heal everyone.

Cloud regarded them, his eyes so sharp they could have pierced straight at them. The scarf hid his mouth, making it impossible for him to gauge his moods. Then, he said, "Alright, I've got it. Vanitas, Sora, you two will stay behind me and Hercules. The two of you are more adept at magic. You'll be able to heal us or take out the Heartless that we miss."

"Aw, I want to fight too," said Sora, despondent.

"We're getting in your way, aren't we?" Vanitas said to which Cloud nodded. Unlike Sora, he understood. It didn't surprise him in the least. His swing range was enough to lop off their heads and limbs if they weren't careful. He had learned with Zack that those huge swords could be terrifying in the right hands. "No, it's fine. I get it. You suck at magic and only have brute strength. Nice to know you're useless without us."

"Do you ever stop being a smart aleck?" Cloud snapped.

"Do you ever stop being a brooding jackass?"

Hercules stepped between them before their tense words stirred up a storm. "Easy, guys. We're not trying to fight each other now, are we? We've all got our strengths and weaknesses. We should try and get along. Deal?"

The two mumbled their half-hearted agreements. The latter was willing to go along with the affair for now. This appeased Hercules and Sora.

After checking their injuries again, they moved on to the next room. In this room they implemented the formation they decided on. While Hercules and Cloud charged like the unreasonable bulls they were, Vanitas and Sora kept away from the fight's center. When they had the opportunity Vanitas would take potshots at any unsuspecting Heartless that came their way. He had to when he received no experience from Hercules or Cloud's assaults on the Heartless.

They continued on like this through the next two rooms seeing how it worked well enough for them. It took no time at all to get through them to Vanitas' relief.

"Huh, this is easier," Sora said once they finished off their current room. He checked Cloud and Hercules for injuries he could heal. They had taken a beating in their attempt to defeat the Heartless, earning scratches and fireballs to their person. Because of their efforts, the room was gloriously empty. "Guess you were right, Cloud."

The swordsman smirked at Vanitas.

"Shut up," he sneered at the silent 'I told you so.' "If you weren't throwing yourself in the middle of the fight like that, you wouldn't need to be healed. Next fight we get into, if you get injured and you're too slow to move, you're on your own."

"Why would I get injured when you're ready to swoop in and kill the Heartless for me?"

"Well, maybe you should-" Vanitas began to say. He stopped short as a flash of black stained the corner of his eye. It was brief, but he could see a coat end flare before it disappeared around a corner. Scanning his minimal, a red dot darted from where he had seen them. He didn't know that many people in black coats. By process of elimination, he was certain he knew who it was.

"He should...?" Sora continued. He looked over his shoulder. "Did you see something?"

"I think I did. Hey, I'm going to go check it out," he said, turning to go head that way.

"Don't go running off on your own. Vanitas!" Cloud warned. Vanitas didn't listen and ran off without them. "Vanitas, come back here!"

"I'll be back in a second!" he called before disappearing around the corner to follow the red dot. He knew Cloud and Caelum, wherever he was watching from, would be pissed about running off on his own. He couldn't help himself. He needed to check if his hunch was right.

"Should you be going off on your own like this?" asked Orion in their stead. "Why are you not staying with Sora when we have worked so hard to find him?"

"Xion's still missing," he replied, running through the floor. He ignored the Heartless he came across attempting to avoid their claws the best he could.

"Are you that concerned about her?"

"Of course I am. I told her that she could tag along. She might be weird, but I promised that I would help her."

Xion, at her core, was a lost little lamb with no memories. She didn't deserve to wander around helplessly in a foreign world. He couldn't, on good conscience, forget about her. She had saved his life. Now that he knew his friends were fine he could spare some time to find her.

"Why be concerned about an anomaly you do not know on a personal level?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"...You are an odd user, you know."

"I get that a lot." Vanitas grinned. People thought he weird for subverting their expectations. He relished in always surprising people.

Sooner than he expected, he caught up to the red dot on the minimap. Or perhaps the red dot simply waited for him to catch up. It was waiting for him in the room beyond. To his dismay he always found a blue dot and two yellow dots trying to follow him. How annoying.

Arriving at his destination, he found the cloaked figure standing in the center clearly waiting for him. By the posture alone, he could tell it wasn't Xion. That left one other person.

"Hey, asshole! What have you done to Xion?" he demanded, summoning his Keyblade. He didn't want to waste anymore time.

"I've got a question for you," the MCF shot back, the same heat in his tone. "Who exactly is that girl you've been traveling with? Why do you know her?"

"Are you stupid? How could you not know who she is? You saw her with me in the last world."

"I know that. But if she's not here with you, I need to know who or what that girl, Xion, is to you."

"She's my friend that you so rudely called a Nobody. She doesn't even remember anything about being one." Vanitas wasn't kind to Nobodies or anything similar to those creatures. Yet, in her absence, he felt he had to defend Xion's honor. She didn't appear to like being called names by cloaked strangers.

"Are you sure she doesn't remember anything?"

"She told me so herself. Why are you asking me about this?"

Instead of answering him, the MCF remained silent. Vanitas had time to think as well. Why in the worlds was he suddenly so interested in Xion? After his harsh words in the last world, he would have thought he would try to ignore her existence. Why the change of heart?

Finally, the MCF answered his questions as he said, "That girl isn't who you think she is. Whatever role she holds here isn't normal. _She_ isn't normal."

"I don't understand," Vanitas blurted out, thrown off. "She's an innocent amnesiac girl. She doesn't know anything."

He shook his head.

"No, she's not. I'm sure deep down you recognize that as well. The best thing you can do for now is _watch_ _her._ You'll regret it if you don't."

He made an attempt to demand what he could have meant by that. Like always, the MCF beat him as he raised his hand. A hole made of data and code appeared beneath his feet. Gravity failed him as his stomach dropped without much warning. He managed a shout as he plummeted down.

* * *

xxx

* * *

It didn't last for long. The ground came up quickly, and he had to right himself to land on his feet. He stumbled, wobbling as his balance was thrown off. Once he was righted himself, he succumbed to his rage.

Goddamnit, _again?_ What was with that guy and his stupid dark portals? He used them more than Vanitas did. What made it worse was how he could never sense it coming. In the virtual world it was impossible to sense darkness.

Orion climbed up his head pulling at the hair strands like ropes. "I do not think I need to tell you this but I will anyway. Following that person was not the smartest thing you could have done."

"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. His frustration came to a boil as he examined their new location. The columns gave away the fact he was still within the maze. His map told a different tale seeing as how Sora and his group had disappeared off his radar. "If that bastard sent me back to the start, I'm going to knock his teeth out the second I see him again."

"Luckily for you he has not. What he did was send you a few floors higher."

"Of course he did. The question is why."

"Most likely because he knew you were looking for Xion." On his map Orion made a mark where a small blue circle pulsed. Based on the location, it wasn't far. "I do not know why he would do such a thing. I suppose you should count your blessings considering you were worried about her."

"She ended up here?" He unconsciously started to make his way to the circle. He cautiously entered a new room. The Heartless meter flashed red at an absurdly high level. "I don't know see why she would end up here. It looks like any floor we've been to."

The Heartless, as expected, popped up to disturb him. As he saw their health meters a third higher than he had last seen them, he knew he had spoken too soon. He drew his Keyblade to attack head on with a _Wind Dash._ Propelled by wind magic, he darted forward to slash at the Armored Heartless' exposed side. Glancing at the enemy's HP bar, he was astonished to find he barely made a dent. What in the worlds-

Claws scrapped across his sword arm to draw angry red lines, raising buzzing alarms. Vanitas backed away before he was killed in the next sweep of its arms. In his haste he cast _Cure_ to heal his wounds, throwing himself through the threshold back to where he arrived. He stumbled, falling to one shaky knee in the safe zone.

"That was close," he panted. "Why was their strength so high? I can usually take out those Soldiers without a problem. All it did was hit me once and I almost died!"

"I noticed something while I was scanning their data for you," said Orion, his tiny voice quivering like he had an extra dose of fading helium. "I thought that person was doing you a favor to reunite you with Xion. That does not seem to be the case here. The Heartless on this floor are all remarkably stronger than you. In your terms they are five levels higher than your's."

He pulled up his status menu along with a blank black window he would see Arty use to input computer commands. The list on it were the Heartless he had scanned to show their strength levels. Vanitas compared both, his heart leaping in his chest. Orion wasn't exaggerating. Their defense numbers were one less than his strength. No wonder he couldn't do any damage. Not with numbers like these.

"How am I supposed to make it through here? They'll kill me if I try to fight them. It's suicide."

"Technically speaking you do not have to fight them. Yes, you would not become stronger by fleeing and you will not receive rare items. In this case I would recommend avoiding them. I doubt Lady Arty would appreciate knowing you let ur pride blind you."

"It's already bad enough Caelum will lecture me about running off," Vanitas conceded. He could already imagine Caelum spewing fire at how he ran to pursue the MCF and did not return. In the background Max and Arty would try to soothe his frazzled nerves while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy looked on in fond exasperation. He shook the image out of his mind. He was starting to miss them terribly. "Speaking of Caelum, can you get in touch with them?"

"Unfortunately I cannot. There is something interfering with my communications," Orion replied in dejection. "Whether it is this floor or my own inability, I cannot contact them."

Things honestly couldn't get worse than this. He had worked so hard to get into contact with his friends only for this to happen-stuck on a floor where at every turn he would get killed in two hits. He wanted to rub his hands on his face to wipe away the stress. This was insane.

The best thing Vanitas could do was use Orion's plan. As much as he hated running from a fight, he would have to suck up his pride.

Taking a moment to contemplate his life choices, he made a quick note on what route he needed to use to get to Xion. When he made a plan he prepared himself.

"Orion," he said, edging the threshold where he had entered the Heartless infested section. He summoned his Keyblade, "hold on tight. I don't want to lose you while I'm running."

The fairy did as he was told, grabbing hold of his hood. With him secured Vanitas wasted no time. He bolted straight through the threshold and sprinted past any Heartless he could came across.

They flew past, never being seen as he ran with a singleminded concentration. He paid close attention to what Heartless popped up and where. He swerved away from their vicious claws, magic spells, and steel shields. On instinct alone he ran for the room where Xion was he pulled away from each Heartless attack.

Soon he made his way to his destination, throwing himself through without hesitation. However, he wasn't safe yet. Stepping into the room, the dark creatures he had avoided appeared in his way. Vanitas slowed to a halt, a curse on his lips. He had no choice. In here he would need to fight. Summoning his Keyblade, he looked at a floating elemental, freezing ice shards forming in the air to shoot them down. A Shield Heartless came forward, thrusting its weapon to try and stun him. Vanitas stepped out of the way at the last minute. He managed to get behind it and stabbed his Keyblade into its side, using a _Wind Dash_ to follow up. The two attacks hardly made more than five percent of damage. He was unable to finish his assault when a big-bellied Heartless attempt to attack his open back. Luckily he sensed it behind him and stepped closer to the walls. Vanitas fired a few more spells to keep them at bay.

There was little that he could do other than be on the defensive. Vanitas had to plan each move he made. There was no room for error. If he hesitated, he could end up dead without realizing it. He didn't stop moving for a second, sliding behind the larger creatures while shooting the elementals out of the sky with a _Thunder_ once he saw they had no yellow jar among them. The process forced him to take longer to defeat them, the damage getting chipped at a snail's pace.

It took him _forever_ to defeat the Heartless. One by one, they were vanquished by his blade until his sensor fell to yellow, and finally to nothing. Once the final Heartless fell, Vanitas, coming to an abrupt halt, stumbled and collapsed to lie on his back. His health bar had one-fourth left. One more hit and he could have died.

He never thought fighting Heartless much stronger could be so difficult. Even the Nobodies weren't this annoying. Part of him wanted to lie there and hope death would be swift. If the Heartless in this room were like the rest of the floor, he wanted to hole up and die there.

The good news was he could die at level thirteen. Higher leveled Heartless dropped higher experience points.

Staring listlessly at the virtual sky and wondering if the phantom pain in his arm was real or not, the white dot occupying the same room moved towards his vulnerable form. Soon, tapping heels entered his hearing range, a shadow hovering above him upside down.

"That had to be the scariest thing I have ever seen," said Xion, a tremble in her small voice. "I thought you weren't going to make it."

"Neither did I," he croaked.

"Do you need help?"

"Can you take my Keyblade and heal me? I hurt all over and I need a minute."

Xion did as he requested, prying his stiff fingers off the Keyblade. Muttering a soft, " _Cure,"_ the healing magic washed over him from head to toe. He sat up.

"Thanks for that," said Vanitas, holding his head as a rush blackened his vision. In his hand his Keyblade was returned. "Have you been on this floor the whole time? I've looked through this maze everywhere for you."

"Yes, I have. After we entered that portal, I found myself here. I thought about looking for you, but I saw that the Heartless were too strong for me to handle. I used one of my spells and couldn't do much damage."

"So you stayed in one place and hid yourself?"

She nodded.

"It was the only thing I could do. I don't even know where the exit is."

"Luckily for you I have an idea where to find it." Vanitas recovered enough to find the strength to stand. He helped Xion to her feet as well. "Orion, how many rooms over is the portal to the next floor? I don't want to deal with those Heartless again."

Orion popped out under the extra fabric in his hood. He flew out and shook his crumpled wings. "I don't think there are many rooms left until you reach the portal. None of the previous locations held it. It must be in one of the last few rooms by that logic."

He relayed the message to Xion and she nodded.

"That doesn't sound so bad. As long as we avoid fighting the Heartless in this place, we'll be fine, won't we?"

"I think so. We'll have to make a run for it though. Think you can keep up?" She hummed in agreement. "We'll see about that. Let's get going."

Vanitas moved his way over to the other exit out the current room. He made sure to break all the boxes around him to get the Mega-Potion for his effort. Then, planning out his route through the the other rooms to snake around. He needed to do so if he wanted to find the portal. Once he finished, he sprinted out without warning to Xion or Orion. He didn't have to worry as they hurried to catch up.

His pulse racing as fast as his legs carried him, he flew past the Heartless as he did before. Dark shapes framed by codes did not form in time as he streaked past. A hot thrill shot straight into his veins, he loved getting away, jumping away from ominous claws and dogs faces pressed into steel like some eternal punishment. He was too fast for them, he though in delight. For all their power they couldn't match up to his speed and dexterity.

Although he didn't let it get to his head. In the back of his head his self-preservation cautioned him to be vigilant. How stupid would it be if he let his ego be his downfall? Incredibly so. Caelum would taunt him for the rest of their days.

So he remained cautious through the two rooms when he spotted the blue portal in the center surrounded by Heartless waiting to ambush them. That was when he told caution to screw off.

He slowed long enough for Xion to catch up half a beat later. Then, he grabbed hold of her hand and plucked Orion next to her head. She gasped as he hauled her to the portal. As they drew closer, the Heartless lunged for them. At the last second he pulled Xion to propel her forward. Stumbling, she managed to get past the fat Heartless' trunk-like arm and landed on the portal. Vanitas hopped over it, his heels brushing the top, and followed after her.

Touching the portal, Vanitas' data was taken apart to be reassembled in an entirely new location. To him it felt like dropping down a hole. His feet on solid ground, he searched for Xion. He found her lying on her stomach sprawled over where she had lost her footing. He came over to help her.

"Can you warn me next time you decide to do something like that?" she asked, wobbling on unsteady legs. "Oh, man, You weren't kidding when you had to run like that."

"And warn _me_ as well!" Orion shouted. He came to his head to buzz with the intensity of an angry bee swarm. "How many times must I tell you to not handle me in such a way? Lady Arty won't be pleased you are handling me in this manner!"

Vanitas waved him away. He was being such a drama queen. He let Xion go, stepping away. Then, he noticed their surroundings. It was much different than he expected. No long did it appear like a maze but a long path to an arena far off in the distance. The sky was a black pit swallowing the stars and moon as clouds painted them. Torches lined their path as if to welcome them and bid them farewell to the last sense of peace they had left. The arena itself was cast in a dim glow in its fake endeavor to appear appealing.

Xion noticed where he was looking and said, "We're not going over there, are we?"

"Are we?" Vanitas echoed to Orion.

"We are," the fairy said, landing on his shoulder now that he was over his tantrum. "I suppose I don't have to tell you that we must head there. The glitch's center lies there."

"Where there's a glitch we're bound to run into Sora," he said, nodding in self-assuredness. He opened his Command menu to rearrange them to hold _Cure, Fire Raid, Thunder,_ and _Blizzard._ Checking his health along with Xion's, he strode down the path.

"Vanitas, I don't like this," Xion whispered. She made sure to stick close to him. She was so close her boots kept hitting the back of his heels. "We couldn't handle the Heartless on the last floor. What makes you think we're ready for what's in there?"

"We're not alone. Before I ran into you, I met Sora and Hercules. We were supposed to make our way to the final floor together."

"You were? That means they might be waiting for us at the arena." The tension left her shoulders. "That's good. That means you'll be fighting alongside others who might be of more use to you."

"You're not useless," he reassured her as they approached the metal gates to the arena. "You saved me before, didn't you?" She nodded, hesitating. "Then don't let anyone call you useless, and don't you dare call yourself that either. You got it?"

"I...Okay."

Vanitas nodded. Xion had become part of his team. He wouldn't let anyone talk her down, least of all themselves. The next time he met that douchebag MCF he had a special punch reserved for hurting Xion's 'feelings.' He turned to the gates, watching them as they rose open in greeting. The black shadows waited patiently for them to step within.

He and Xion shared a look, glancing at the entrance and each other. Although he couldn't see her face, they knew exactly what they were thinking. They didn't need any words.

 _Are you ready for this?_

They nodded. Then, they stepped into the darkness to confront the heart of the glitch.


	11. Boss Rush

Chapter 11

Stepping through the gates and reaching the other side, Vanitas, Xion, and Orion were greeted by a staircase to the arena's heart. From that direction drifted canine-like howls and deep, harsh barks in tandem to singing steel and battle cries.

"They're fighting the glitch!" Orion gasped, displaying a giant red dot on the map. Tiny white dots danced around it like buzzing flies around fruit. "We need to hurry. They might need your help!"

Vanitas ran up the steps halfway through his last sentence, Xion close behind. As they came closer, it was easier to discern individual voices. He could make out Sora shouting spells as Hercules ordered Cloud to let him take the brunt of the attacks. Their voices were drowned out whenever the canine snarled in a rabid frenzy, an animal bent on tearing meat apart. It didn't take him long to reach the top, his Keyblade in hand, and instantly scanned the scene before him.

Just as he predicted Sora, Cloud, and Hercules were in mortal combat against a canine. What he had failed to guess was that this creature happened to be a four-story tall, black coated hound with three heads. It was this feature he noticed first. It wasn't every day he got to see such a thing. The next was the fact it spat giant fireballs like chewed up scraps of fabric and it had caught on fire. One happened to fall to his right.

Vanitas dove for cover as the flames were close enough to sear some health off his bar. He rolled to his feet where he ended up next to Cloud skidding back after blocking the dog's paw swipe.

"Hey Cloud, miss me?" he quipped, grinning unabashed.

"Who'd miss a kid like you? It took you long enough to join the fun," he dryly replied. Then he ran full-tilt at the dog, flipped into the air, and brought his blade down on the creature's neck. It snarled, whipping its body in a circle as if to chase its tail. The air current it had created in its wake caused Hercules to lose his balance and he tumbled flat on his back. Stopping in front of him, one of its head opened its mouth to snatch the hero up. However, he shoved himself to his feet, raising his arms to catch snapping jaws where yellowed teeth flashed and was read to tear through that brusque physique.

"Vanitas!" Xion shouted as she appeared at the top of the staircase. She placed one foot inside the arena to join the fight, ice frosting her glove tips in preparation for a spell.

That was when everything went haywire.

Suddenly, static noise overtook his hearing and made his vision swim. Wincing, he fought against the oncoming headache such a frequency left him in and saw lines streak across the dog, who was in mid-motion to jump. In its next movement its image flickered, a tall transparent figure replacing it. Frigid winds swept over them in a short blast. It was so cold it covered everything in frost. As it landed, a slight earthquake rocked the arena to make it difficult to stay standing. All movement stopped as the five regarded the newcomer, astonished.

The giant dog was no longer there but a giant, gangly humanoid creature. Resembling an emaciated human body encased in ice, it made for a terrifying image, its ribcage visible and mouth full of sharp teeth. At the ends of its long arms were four-fingered hands curled in claws. Mist rolled off its frame, shrouding its vicinity in the cold air. Vanitas was certain the chill in his body wasn't just from the subzero temperature.

"How did he-" Hercules gasped. He cut himself off as the thing grew icicles from its fingertips that were long and sharp enough to skewer through their unprotected bodies as he threw them at him. Vanitas saw them coming and darted forward, throwing himself in front of him to raise his Keyblade. The shards bounced harmlessly against the handguard to reflect back at the giant frost monster. They managed to do damage against it-a simple sliver on its health bar.

"Where did this thing come from?" Vanitas asked.

"I do not know, but I can sense it was taken from the same floors you had been pushed into," said Orion, voice muffled where he was hidden. "I doubt this information will aid you in the fight."

"It doesn't matter where it came from," said Cloud in tandem, brandishing his blade. "It's just another monster in our way."

"Mind sharing that confidence with the rest of us?"

"But what is it?" Sora questioned, gasping as the giant ice shard hurtling toward him nicked his arm. Hercules snatched him out of the way.

"It's called the Ice Titan," the hero replied clearly enough for the rest of them to hear. "Everyone, be careful. If you get too close to any of its attacks, you'll be frozen solid!"

"Gee, you think we couldn't tell by the ice it's throwing at us?" Vanitas shouted before rolling beneath more shards, getting back to his feet to deflect the last of it. Smirking when they bounced back and damaged it, he nodded. "I agree with Cloud. I don't care who or what it is. Let's kill it."

The Ice Titan decided to try something new seeing as how the icicles didn't work. It curled its spindle-like fingers into a fist big enough to be a boulder and punched the arena floor. Pillars of ice shot through the dirt as the shockwaves reverberated throughout. They pierced through all around them at random. It made it difficult for them to tell where they would appear, yet Vanitas was well-acquainted with such an attack. He used the same technique for himself. Vanitas felt the ground shake beneath him and stepped away. However, he was too slow as the sharp ice sliced his leg, dropping his health to the halfway point. From the cries surrounding them, everyone else had gotten hurt as well.

Casting _Cure_ to heal everyone, he retreated to where Hercules and Cloud had formed a blockade around Sora and Xion. He managed to get there as the titan regrew its shards and hurled them. Cloud grabbed his arm to drag him to the younger fighters. Vanitas spun around and watched the older warriors use their sword and shield to block the wider spread attack.

"Do we have a plan?" he asked, pausing to settle his racing heart.

"The safest thing we can do," Hercules grunted under the assault, "is to reflect these shards back. They're our best bet against it."

"That's not good enough," said Cloud, bringing his blade out of his guard stance. "If we do that, we'll get worn out before we can do anything. We need a better plan."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Sora asked, moving to stand beside him, tense and ready to go.

The swordsman glanced at him, then to his doppleganger briefly. "You and Vanitas will go for its legs while we cover you. If we can topple it, we'll be able to do a lot more than reflect its attacks back."

"What about me?" Xion piped in.

"What can you do?"

"Xion fights with magic," Vanitas interjected. "She can use it better than us. Don't make her fight that thing head on."

"Got it. Xion, you stay back and help us distract it." Cloud shifted, putting his weight on his left foot. Then, without warning, he pushed off his right and flew across the area, wing unfurled. This was the signal for everyone to follow.

The two Keyblade wielders sprinted after Cloud. The Ice Titan punched the arena, the shockwaves shattering the previous pillars only for more to replace them. They weaved between them and dodged when one pierced beneath them. Close to its legs, Vanitas rolled as a pillar punctured the dirt and was back up, slashing at the glacial legs. Sora followed suit, coming up to throw his Keyblade at them. Sparks flashed as it went, slicing into the ice and recurving back to its master. He met it halfway and snatched it out of the air. Then, he shifted his grip on it to swipe it upward as he jumped, slashing on his way down.

Both were relentless in their assault, ignoring the shouts their group emitted as they distracted the titan. Vanitas blocked them out. He used all his concentration into attacking its leg. He activated as many of his Commands as he could trying to hurt it without abandon. Ice chips flew off with each swing that connected. The frost had no effect on him but Sora was gripping his blade harder to keep his shivers at bay.

Together, the two did enough damage to make the titan lose its balance, collapsing on its knees. When it did they fled far enough to not be squashed. Their own knees trembled from the impact it made.

Cloud was there in an instant, flying in and leaping high with his sword over his head and swung down hard on his descent. That attack alone made the titan screech, slicing its health considerably.

Hercules and Xion also swooped in to help. The bulking hero grabbed one of the icy spires, breaking it at its base, then threw it at the monster's head. He did the same with the others. Xion hung back out of the danger zone chucking fireballs at its feet. The ice melted at each contact for a small fraction of time, but the monster's core temperature was too low to maintain the melting point, freezing the melted water again.

Their combined effort made it possible to bring down a health bar. Vanitas saw it dip down to the one below it. Not a second later the same glitch that had occurred before happened again causing the Ice Titan's image to flicker. It turned into the three-headed dog once more. It's presence made them falter. Where had that come from?

Their hesitation cost them. One of its head snapped at Sora while another went for Cloud. The latter was dexterous enough to turn on his heel, shifting his shoulder where its teeth scraped against the armor. Sora was not so fortunate as he was unable to get away quickly enough. He tucked his torso into a ball for its teeth to catch on his hood. The cloth between them, it lifted him into the air. He screamed when the dog shook its head violently like it would with a chew toy. The ferocity loosened the cloth and sent him flying, crashing into the dirt. The resounding crack should have earned him a broken bone, but all he did was get back up, stumbling, where a hit to his health was his reward.

"What's happening here?" Cloud demanded, sliding back to where Sora was to ensure his safety.

"User, Lady Arty has a message to relay to you and Sora," Orion murmured in his ear.

" _Arun, Sora, Cerberus and the Ice Titan are switching places!"_ she shouted. Vanitas winced at how her frantic volume crackled the microphone. " _The glitch in the area is making them switch when they take too much damage at a time. From what I can tell, they share the same amount of health."_

"If we get it down, will Cerberus change to the titan again?" he asked. If that was true, then any damage that they sustained at one time would be transferred to the other.

" _Yeah, will you be okay?"_

Cerberus interrupted before he could reply. The giant dog pulled its upper body up to get on its hind legs. Vanitas tensed when he spotted Xion close to where it would land. He knew if he tried, he wouldn't make it to save her. On the other hand, Hercules didn't believe in giving up. He sprinted to her and swept her off her feet, not stopping for a moment. He was well out of the range when it landed, shaking the arena.

"This fight isn't normal," said Hercules, setting down a trembling Xion to her feet, "but it's nothing we can't handle. A true hero goes against all odds."

"Some heroes need to know when they're way over their heads." Vanitas never forgot about Zack, his friend from the Underworld, who had been a hero as well. He had seemed invincible until he went up against waves of soldiers and was gunned down. Seeing his tragic death for himself, he believed true heroes were foolish. "But, fine, if we need to do this, let's end this as fast as possible."

Although this fight had gotten out of hand, everyone was still willing to try. Hercules, Cloud, and Vanitas had enough of hanging back like they did the Ice Titan. The three came in from all sides while Cloud ordered Sora to stay back to use his magic alongside Xion. As they headed for it, the three dog heads started to exhale a purple gas from their mouths. It was apparent what they were when dark pools gathered in random spots around the arena. They were like the ice pillars in the way it was easy to weave between them and dodge them.

As this was going on to hinder their movement, Cerberus took the advantage before. Its heads deeply inhaled, a rumble in its chest as if there was liquid in its lungs before exhaling giant balls of fire like it had done previously. It shot them in random directions, no real target in mind while hoping they would hit.

Vanitas ducked for cover as a fireball narrowly hit the space to his left. Orion yelped at the flames that burst forth and made Vanitas' sleeve catch fire. He patted it down when he heard Cloud shout, "Sora, duck!" He lifted his head, twisting it to his right and saw the blonde swordsman, with the speed of a devil, flew towards the younger Keyblade wielder to outrace a fireball directed at him. Sora was too busy moving around the dark pools and didn't notice. Cloud landed in front of him, lifted his blade, and blocked it entirely. He swiped his sword through the fire to dissipate them faster.

He said something, but it was too faint for Vanitas to catch. All he knew was that seeing him begin to glow blue didn't mean well for Cerberus. Cloud rose into the air and, in a blink of an eye, flew at Cerberus, blade ready to swing. He slashed at the dog heads with such tremendous strength it cut down the current bar down. He swung it once, twice, and seven more times. At the last swing he stored as much of his momentum into it and swung it down on Cerberus' right head.

It should have if the dog hadn't glitched and hadn't been replaced at the last second. His blade went straight through the head in the transition. All of the stamina that Cloud had for that attack faded afterwards forcing him to land.

Before he could touch the ground, the Ice Titan was solid and ready for the fight again. It leaned down to exhale a gust of frost in front of it. Cloud got the full brunt of the attack. To their horror they saw that the gust had encased him in a glacier, freezing him inside.

Sora cried out, running to come to his aid only to be stopped as an icy chunk was lobbed at him. It knocked him over to destroy his meager health, landing close to Xion. Hercules picked up the slack to charge his way through everything even as frost settled on his skin and hair. Near Cloud, he drew back his fist and punched the ice. It shattered, freeing the swordsman. Cloud drew a shuddering breath and fell forward where the bulky hero was there to catch him, haul him up in a fireman carry, and retreated. He brought him over to where Xion was healing Sora back to fighting condition.

Vanitas ran over to where they were, throwing his Keyblade to knock ice shards out of the sky. Sora was on his feet, shaking his limbs to rid himself of the remaining shock the attack had left him in. Meanwhile, Xion hovered over Cloud, who was on his knees trembling despite the soft green light he was bathed in.

"Can he fight?" he asked her, facing the titan and glancing over his shoulder.

"He needs a second to rest," she replied. "He said he heals quickly but even that won't help against frostbite."

"It's nothing." A slight shudder through his lean frame and spoke otherwise. His lips were tinged blue, slowly fading as his body warmed.

"I'll take that as a no." He turned to Hercules and Sora. "And then there were three. Let's try not to lose anymore of our party, shall we?"

Hercules nodded, eyeing the monster as it bent its knees. He bent his own to brace himself.

"Noted. Neither of you do anything reckless, got it?"

They nodded, copying Hercules' stance. The last thing they needed was to endanger the rest of them.

The Ice Titan swept its hand through the air to send a widespread range of ice shards. Vanitas lifted his Keyblade to block them, but he didn't expect to see that it had put its weight on one leg to pull the one frozen to the ground free and smashed it down again. It did the same with the other foot and slowly stomped its way around the arena towards them, bent on squashing them like bugs.

Vanitas slipped in front of Sora to guard him and reflect back the shards. Behind him, Sora used his _Fire_ spell repeatedly to not only melt some of the shards but to hit the frozen monster as well. Even though some shards managed to slip past Vanitas to cut them, the two attacks consistently hurt it.

While they handled that, they watched Hercules ducked beneath the steady stream. He kept low as he weaved between them to head for the titan once more. He got to its legs relatively safe never stopping as he punched its left leg. The crack that resounded was much like a bone when it broke. Vanitas imagined it was the same to make the titan screech as it sunk to its knees. Hercules tried to get away, but he was too slow to get out. Its knee fell on top of him. However, such a thing couldn't kill the hero so easily. The leg shifted enough for Hercules to squeeze out from beneath it.

"Vanitas, Sora, finish it off!" he huffed, backing off to catch his breath.

Vanitas didn't need to be told twice. He used his _Wind Dash_ zip across the battlefield. Once it finished, he leapt into the air to use a _Thunder_ and ran his Keyblade across its face. He landed as Sora caught up and used _Blizzard_ to destroy the second to last HP bar.

The Ice Titan glitched out once it did back to Cerberus, leaving the dog with the final green bar.

As if it knew that its life was in danger, its nearest head-its middle one-snapped down at Vanitas. He made to roll beneath it, yet Sora was faster. In an impressive move he jumped to the same height as the other dog heads, drawing their attention. They moved to try and catch him between them. However, he spread his arms out to catch them at their muzzles, leaving him dangling between them. With one free head left it changed its mind and opened its mouth wide to devour him whole. At the last second Sora maneuvered himself just enough to slip out between the heads, launching himself higher. As the third head came in, he used his Keyblade's teeth to flip onto the maw and plant both feet on its jaw. The head next to him decided to try its luck at getting him, but he managed to anticipate the attack and jumped off before the head could get him. What the head did was bit its sibling head resulting in a high pitched whine canines made that grated on Vanitas' nerves.

Seeing the dog was stunned, Sora didn't give up his momentum. He started to use a combination of slashes and thrusts, ending in a skyward upswing and down slash. As he did his last slash, Hercules sprinted towards the dog so fast there was a golden blur behind. With the extra speed he had more power to his punch and hit the dog in the torso as Sora brought his blade down on its neck.

Sora and Hercules' final strike was enough to obliterate the last of Cerberus' last HP. The giant dog vanished into bits of code, collapsing to its knees never to return. As soon as it was gone, everyone relaxed.

"We did it!" Xion cheered.

"That oughta put the Coliseum back to normal," Hercules huffed, fighting to fill his lungs with missing oxygen.

Cloud grunted, a smirk gracing his face.

"About time I found my way home."

"C'mon, let's go tell Phil the good news," said Sora, basking in their triumph.

"Um, excuse me, aren't you forgetting a few loose ends?" said someone that made Vanitas' skin crawl. A plume of black smoke erupted between the five. It dissipated to reveal a tall figure clad in a black toga, a skull broach holding it up. He stood as if they were mere commoners in his lordly presence. "Yeah, hi. I'm right here."

"Hades!" They darted away from the Lord of the Dead. Vanitas made certain to stand before Xion to try and shield her, eyeing the god.

The last time he had encountered him Hades had made him try to fight Zack and made a half-assed promise to show him his past. That turned out to be a trap, because all he did was tell him about how he lost his memories in the vaguest way imaginable. He wasn't surprised that Hades might have been behind this mess.

"I finally find a trap with all the right trappings and what do you do? You go and ruin it," said Hades in a casual manner. "Okay, the thing about deadly mazes? You're supposed to die in them. But I see this is going to take a more hands-on approach!"

As he said this, a wave of heat billowed over them like a desert wind. They flinched, the air too stagnant to breathe properly. Hades faced them, fire licking the ground around him. It was then Vanitas realized he had never fought him before. In fact he had never fought a well-known god.

"Hey, uh, Herc?" Sora inched closer to the hero, watching Hades with a wary eye. "I think I know another trick to making it as a hero."

"Oh yeah? Let's hear it," Hercules replied, slipping into a fighting stance.

"At the end of the day make sure you're still standing!"

The overconfident response sent Hades into a fiery fury that exploded with the force of a bomb around him. Hades was enraged by such a lackadaisical reaction as flames burst forth around his being, skin and hair a bright red. In his hands he conjured more the size of a basketballs.

"Take this!" he yelled, hurling them at Xion. They shot at a high speed that was too fast for her to respond to the action. Cloud, however, could. He pushed himself in front of her, raising his blade to let them scorch the steel instead. Swiping through the leftover embers, he charged and leapt high over Hades' head with the blade raised to cleave the god. He brought it down at his head but he didn't flinch. Grinning, Hades thrust his hand out as Cloud landed. An inferno came forth to envelop him. The swordsman used his huge sword as a shield but couldn't help the cry as his hand didn't escape the onslaught. "Better try harder than that, pinhead!"

"Then try this for size!" Hercules barreled towards Hades, fists shining gold. He didn't hold back his punch as the god whirled around to him and got a face full of it. It was so hard it smacked the red out of him, skin cooling to blue again. Dazed, Hades blinked several times, disoriented. "Now!"

Vanitas was swift to respond, firing a _Thunder_ to stun the god long enough for him to come in with a slash-and-thrust combination. He managed in a few good hits before he regained himself. Growling, flames licked at Hades' fingertips as he swiped at him. He stepped back as the heat spread close to his abdomen. Sora sprinted towards the god to take his place. He was forced to backtrack as the fire billowed out in his direction as a makeshift flamethrower to keep him at bay. It died down when a cold wind blasted from the side where Xion tried to distract him. The spell hit his fire, turning the ice to water and dousing him. The god winced.

"You little brat!" Hades hissed. His smoke covered him once again to reappear behind her. The fire surrounded him as he lashed them out at her. Vanitas took several steps to try and get to her but was too late. She whirled on her heel, gasping and raising her arms to brace herself. He stopped when he noticed that her health bar had, once again, not taken any damage. She lost her footing, tumbling and landing on her back. There was no part of her singed from the attack. Astonishment made Hades halt his attack. "How did you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Cloud and Sora came to Xion's rescue. While she scuttled away to safety, Cloud slashed his blade in a distinct pattern that glowed while Sora hit him three times. At the end of his third hit he spun around, several balls of energy appearing in his Keyblade's range and exploded once he came to a stop. Hades shouted as the attacks scorched and sliced into him. It wasn't enough to deter him.

"That's enough!" With his shout his anger flared out once more, seeping every inch of his skin with it. The resulting blaze had everyone escaping the range.

 _This is ridiculous,_ Vanitas thought, casting _Cure_ to heal whatever injuries they got from the attack. He didn't mind fighting against a god who relied on fire to attack but his stages of anger was getting on his nerves. From what he had seen before, they were unable to hurt him as long as he was pissed off like this. If so, they were going to have to rely on Hercules to use his odd magic to knock him out of his rage. It didn't mean he had to like it. _Damn, this is nothing but a waste of time!_

Hades didn't seem to think so as he conjured more fire salvos and aimed them at Sora. This time, the other Keyblade wielder held his ground and held his weapon to swing at them as if he were a baseball player up at bat. Vanitas ran at Hades the same time as Hercules did at the first swing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fireball hit Hades right back in the face. As several more followed, the god couldn't retaliate as the Coliseum hero jabbed his glowing fist at his head.

Once more, the Lord of the Dead lost whatever rage that dyed him crimson and was too busy trying to recover. Vanitas didn't let him, coming in to rake his Keyblade's teeth against his forming wounds and tears in his toga. A flap of a wing came as Cloud swooped down to aid him, landing behind Hades to drag his sword's tip across the god. Their combined efforts had Hades screaming, though it was not in pain.

"That does it! I've let this go on long enough!" The god whipped out his arm that was wrapped in flames in an instant behind him. Cloud was too late to block against it as the blaze erupted to a white blast. It sent the swordsman careening into the stands, his back hitting the stones and fell on his front like a rag doll. When he didn't get up Vanitas glanced at his HP bar below Hercules' and found it drained. Cursing, Vanitas reached for his shortcut menu where he kept his Potion supply on hand, grabbed his Potion, then hurled it at the fallen swordsman. He watched it long enough to see it hit Cloud, restoring his health and bringing him to consciousness.

"Vanitas, look out!" Sora yelled, bringing back his attention. He turned back to the fight and saw a wall of flames come at him. He ran in the opposite direction of it, noticing that Hades was at its center, his arms out to bring forth more. Considering the heat, he was back to having his temper tantrum. Since he was slowly spinning around, his teammates were running in the opposite direction.

He shouldn't have gotten distracted, Vanitas thought, fleeing from the fire. They hadn't been able to do anything to Hades that time around. Not only that, he had managed to recover much faster as well. Was his recovery time getting shorter? If it did, they were definitely going to have to rethink their plans.

He skidded to a halt as they died down, but the god wasn't finished yet. More appeared to fly at Vanitas. Taking a page from Sora's book, he raised his Keyblade and hit them right back. When they flew at Hades he was dismayed when the god raised his hand to dissipate them before they reached him. With another curse he was forced to block the rest of the salvos. There went that plan.

"Please tell me someone has an idea how to beat this guy?" he shouted, frustration bubbling to a boil. After dealing with two bosses at the same time, he was done with this.

He hadn't expected an answer given how everyone was too busy trying to dodge the fireballs coming at them from random directions. Yet, Hercules must have heard his plea. Suddenly, he charged at the god without any regard for the blaze around him. Everyone shouted at him to stop, but he would not listen. Even as he was scorched, skin getting inflamed where he was scorched, he continued on. Plowing right through, he rammed his fist right into Hades' abdomen. Though he doubled over, wracked in pain, he lifted one hand that sparked into a raging inferno. Just as it had with Cloud, Hercules flew across the arena, rolling to a stop near Xion.

As he was sent flying, Sora, Vanitas, and Xion rushed in while Hades was still gagging from the attack. Sora reached him before the other two could. He drew back his Keyblade where it was wrapped in ice and slashed it across the god. The added element did extra damage, cutting down the HP to its last bar. Then, while he was still reeling from the pain he was in, Xion managed to get to Hades.

"Xion, heads up!" Vanitas shouted, throwing his Keyblade to her. She plucked it out of the air, holding it over her shoulder as if to throw it herself. It began to get wrapped in frost.

"Van, behind him!" she shouted, throwing the blade with all her might. It sailed through, spinning in a circle, as it cut into Hades. Vanitas heeded her warning and got behind the god to catch the Keyblade, then lunged at him. He attacked with abandon, swinging and slashing, until every last bit of the green health gave way to black emptiness.

Vanitas slid to a stop, catching himself to watch Hades' flames burn out. He fell to his knees, his breath accelerated. The god tried to summon his fire again to find he couldn't.

"Don't think you've won yet!" he warned, standing to his full height. Vanitas didn't miss his pinched expression or how his hand was clenched at his side. "I've got over five hundred million lives! Sure, most of them are ones I took, but I will be back!"

Grey smoke surrounded Hades to envelop him. He was gone as the wind blew the smoke away. Seeing he was gone, the fire ceased to burn.

"Oh that was scary," Xion sighed, sinking to sit on the ground.

"Good work there." Vanitas wandered over to drag her back to her feet.

"Thanks."

"That did it for sure," said Hercules, rolling his shoulders back. "The Coliseum should change back any minute."

As he said this, a portal appeared as the world shifted around them. Everything broke down into code to be built up into the Coliseum's original form. Cloud was steadily walked over to disappear through the archway. Hercules made his way to the door as well, Sora was quick to follow, and Vanitas dragged Xion to follow after them.

They entered it to find Phil pacing anxiously back and forth. He whirled around and his jaw dropped.

"Holy Hera! You guys made it back in one piece?" he exclaimed.

"Oh ye of little faith," said Sora, grinning.

"Thanks, Sora. You too, Vanitas and Xion," Hercules thanked. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Vanitas shrugged while Sora grinned in pride. All Xion did was press closer to Vanitas' back. Then, Sora glanced around.

"Hey, where's Cloud?"

"What, the schlimazel with the perky haircut?" Phil asked, recovering himself. "He left. Somethin' about gettin' a jump on his next journey."

"What? He could've at least said goodbye."

"I think Cloud's not the type to say that kind of thing." Vanitas got the impression that Cloud hated to say things that were so final. He knew that they would meet Cloud again in the real world, but he didn't know when. Tifa was stilling waiting for him.

"Ya know, he did leave a message. He said ' _Give my best to the hero and heroes-to-be.'"_

"Wait, _hero-t0-be?"_

"In other words, kid, you're still in the junior leagues."

Sora pouted at Phil's teasing smirk.

"Yeah, rub it in."

Hercules shook his head, laughing at their banter. "I'm sure you'll both make great heroes one day. I could use friends like you to keep Olympus safe. Whaddaya say?"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Vanitas said. "My friends are waiting for me. The same goes for Sora."

"But if ya ever need us again, we'll come running," Sora promised.

"Good to know. Give my best to your friends."

"That reminds me. Before I forget..." Phil went over to the trophy case to pick something off its surface. When he came back with them they saw him hold several sheets of paper. "These came out of nowhere after whatever took over the Coliseum went kaput. No idea what they are, though."

"What could those be?" Hercules reached over to pick them up at the same times Vanitas did. As his hand neared them, the papers were drawn into it shifting to code. "Vanitas, what-"

"Don't worry about it," he replied, ignoring the _Entries Get!_ in the corner of his vision. "Sora, Xion, we should get going. We'll need to go catch up to our friends while we can."

Sora nodded while Xion hesitated. She lifted her hand as if she wanted to stop them from going, lowering it to show she changed her mind.

They all said their final farewells, then exited the Coliseum back to where Vanitas and Xion showed up.

"I'm glad that's over with," said Xion, stepping away from Vanitas. "What do we do now? We've found Sora, but we haven't found your friends."

"If you're talking about Arty, Mickey, and everyone else, I know where they are," Sora explained. "But I don't know how we can get to them. You're the one that Vanitas was looking for? I'm Sora."

"I'm Xion. Are you sure you don't know?"

"Maybe. I could try asking them?"

"No need," said Orion, emerging from his hood. "I have already contacted Lady Arty and the others. They should be sending us a portal to allow us to meet them right…" A portal emerged in front of them. "Now."

"Your friends are through there?" Vanitas nodded. "Then let's go meet them! I'm sure they've been worried about you."

In a fit of excitement she ran into the portal without hesitation. Sora had the same energy coursing through him as he followed her, leaving him behind. Vanitas rolled his eyes and entered the portal as well, preparing himself for a reunion.


	12. A Brief Interlude

Chapter 12

The portal dropped them outside the doors to the Disney Castle Library. Vanitas was thrown off balance for a moment believing he had somehow returned to the real world. Sora and Xion's presence dissuaded him as the former opened the doors. The three hurried inside.

One foot past the threshold and Vanitas abruptly had someone collide into him. He yelped as he was pulled into a hug.

"Arun, it's so good to see you safe," Arty breathed, tickling his ear. Her arms were warm and steady, a haven he rarely got to take relish in.

"I should be saying that," he said unable to resist returning her affection. It was only for a brief moment, then he pulled away in faux disgust. "Enough with the hugging. You act like you haven't seen me in years."

"Not like that she hasn't." Arty pulled away entirely for him to spot Caelum. He slided up to Arty's side, his smirk the same as ever. "It's been awhile since I've seen you like this. I have to admit you look more like Sora when you're this age."

"Maybe because my body is a remodel of this Sora?" He jerked a thumb at his look-a-like.

"So Arty was right? You're not really here," Max said as he came to their group.

"How did you figure that out?"

"From the clues that you gave us we put together you're in direct control of a digital body while keeping your real one outside," said Riku. His appearance alone told Vanitas it was him, the silver locks, aquamarine eyes, and that brooding slouch to his shoulders unmistakable. However, like Sora, he was much younger then the one he knew in reality being shorter. "Arty mentioned she was creating a hardware that would allow someone to enter the data world without digitizing their cells. I'm guessing that's what you're using now to control that model."

"You got it," Vanitas concurred. "Just this once I'll admit that my body is Sora's exact copy."

"Why didn't you tell me that when we met, Van?" Xion blurted out.

The room fell silent, all their attention on her. She put her hands over her mouth.

"Did she call you Van?" Donald gaped, duckbill open wide enough to catch flies.

"Gosh, who's your friend?" Mickey stood from his chair to come greet Xion. Like always, he had a friendly smile that Vanitas had come to hate. His eyebrow twitched as he quickly introduced Xion to everyone in the room, sounding reluctant when it came to Mickey, and gave them her name as well.

"We just met," Xion added once everyone gave her greetings, "and Vanitas helped me out when I was in trouble. I decided that coming with him was the best thing I could do."

"She's got amnesia," Vanitas provided. "Trust me. It's a complicated story."

"Considering everything that has happened, we'll need to hear it," Riku said.

"Then I want to hear how all of you," he waved to his friends and acquaintances," ended up here. I leave the room to find you all gone and inside the datascape. What happened?"

"It's complicated," Max repeated, scratching his head sheepishly. "See, it happened like this…"

He went on to explain how, after Vanitas left, there was a bright flare. They didn't think anything of it and tried to guide Sora through several worlds to fix the glitches. They hadn't realized anything was wrong until Sora followed a hooded figure through a portal and ended up in the library. Then, the figure revealed himself to them as Riku, who was a physical manifestation of Jiminy's Journal. He told them the truth-he had pulled them all into the journal to fix the glitches and to discover who had left the secret messages. They sent Sora off to continue fixing the data when Vanitas met him.

Once they finished, Vanitas fixed Riku (he would keep calling him that no matter if he was a journal) with a dark look.

"You made me worry about my friends all because you wanted the data fixed?" he growled. "For a computer system you're a moron, you know that? Was there a need to pull them in here and endanger their lives?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Riku said in his defense. "I hadn't meant to put them in danger. After we found out the mystery behind the message, they would have safely returned home. I hadn't anticipated a hacker to block their way back."

"I can't help but feel you and the real Riku never think things through."

Arty shoved at his shoulder, sending him a stern look to be nice.

"I didn't think you're all from another world and we're inside a journal," said Xion, tilting her head and folding her arms. "So where does Vanitas and Orion fit in? You said he wasn't in the room when your friend in black pulled you in here."

"We were hopin' he'd explain it," Jiminy said. He glanced up at Vanitas, wide hopeful eyes asking him to continue.

"While all of you were relaxing and watching Sora do your dirty work, I got shit done," Vanitas explained.

He went on to tell them everything he had done to catch up to them. From entering the datascape with a virtual body to teaming up with Xion, he told them the struggles he endured to get there. He also told them about the MCF considering he was the one to guide him to two worlds.

"A cloaked figure...Do you know who he was?" Riku wondered, interrupting his retelling.

"I've only met him once, but he wasn't very welcoming," Xion huffed. "He called me a Nobody. Who would be so mean to someone they just met?"

The term had everyone but Riku and Sora exchanging glances. Arty and Caelum were alarmed by it the most, the former biting her lip and the latter's brow furrowing.

"I've been seeing him since I came to the datascape," he said. "He told me the journal contains more than what happened on Sora's adventure. I didn't know what he meant until I ended up in two worlds I'm sure he never visited before last year."

"I have catalogued his adventure, Lady Arty," Orion informed them. He flew to the desk and landed on the scanner they used to analyse Jiminy's journal. As he stood on it, windows popped up on the screen with shots and videos of Twilight Town and the Beast's Castle. "I have recorded moments of interest that you might wish to examine."

"Oh!" Xion gasped as Arty and Riku huddled close to the computer. "Was that Orion's voice on the computer? I didn't know he sounded like that."

"He's speaking through the computer?" Vanitas scowled at the tiny AI. "Now you decide you want people to understand you."

"It is easier to relay information without have you as interpreter in this setting," he tactfully said.

Max stifled a laugh when he snatched Orion off the scanner and shook him like a salt shaker.

"I can't believe Arty has her program like a sidekick in a video game and you're using him."

"He's been useless to me this whole time," he grumbled, releasing the fairy. He fell on the machine once more. "All he ever did was nag at me like Caelum does. The difference is that Caelum helps me in my fights and isn't totally useless."

"I'd be complaining, but I'm glad that someone is looking out for you," said Caelum, shaking his head in fondness. "How you managed to survive that long, I'll never know. Well, then again you had Xion."

"Arun." Vanitas lifted his head to Arty, who was staring at the screen unblinking. Her open expression was wrought with worry. "You visited Twilight Town and went to the Beast's home world? That shouldn't have been possible. Why would the journal hold entries that don't exist?"

"Why not?" Xion wondered.

"We were sleepin' for a whole year," Goofy explained to her without reservation. "We couldn't have visited those two worlds. We went to them for the first time a few weeks ago."

"Then why is it in the journal?"

"This explains a few things I've noticed," Riku said, drawing attention to him. He had a look of contemplation as he scrutinized the windows. "Arty, do you remember how you said that my hardware and data were larger than it appeared? This may have something to do with that."

"When did you notice that?" Donald questioned, voicing what was clear on Mickey and Goofy's faces.

"While you were watching Sora fight his way through the labyrinth," Arty commented, half-distracted. "I was busy analysing some of the data that we managed to fix. I saw that the file size for the entire journal was larger than one would expect. I asked Riku what might be the reason for that. He said he wasn't certain how that could be and didn't know either."

"I don't," he agreed. "I hold in my data the memories that Jiminy recorded in his journal. The fact that the data amount was not equal to what I personally hold has bothered me since she brought it up. We theorized that whoever left the messages behind had also placed data inside the journal that I am unable to access."

She nodded and pointed at the windows inside the screenshots of Vanitas meeting Axel and Belle in their respective worlds. "Seeing everything that Arun has gone through so far, I think we had the right idea. There are things here that might not have originated from the journal."

Mickey hummed in concern.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Is that why I ended up in Twilight Town instead of Destiny Islands?" Vanitas thought aloud.

"Could be," Riku said, thoughtfully tapping his chin with one curled finger. "I don't recall Axel ever showing up before this year. What happened in the worlds you've visited? How have the bugs affected them?"

"Nothing more than what they usually do. Orion thinks they're the reason why I ended up in those two worlds in the first place."

Arty frowned, glancing down at her AI, who had sat down at the scanner's edge.

"Do you believe that or is is something else?" she asked him.

"In the beginning I believed that was the case. Now, with everything I have seen, I am inclined to think there are anomalies within the system," he answered through the computer. He inclined his head to where Xion was huddled near the door to deal with all the new company. "There is one concerning Xion and another with the entries Vanitas has been receiving. I thought you would know something about it."

He brought up several windows all with the same jargon Vanitas found in his Entries menu.

"Where have you been getting those?" Caelum asked, unsure of what to make of it.

"It started with the cloaked guy dropping one," said Vanitas. "Then I started to get one every time I beat the major glitches in the worlds. I tried to read them except they looking like nothing but gibberish. Orion says they're encrypted."

"Right. He doesn't have the tools to decrypt any of that." She slid over to her laptop still hooked up to the main computer. She ended up on her knees to give her back a break, getting straight to work. "This shouldn't be a problem to get through. Just plug in this code, scramble some stuff around…"

It didn't take her long to finish decrypting an entry. As it popped up on the main computer screen, they all moved close to peer at it. However, Xion suddenly groaned. Vanitas glanced over to see her collapse forward. He was at her side in an instant. Caelum followed, dropping to her other side with his staff poised to cast spells. He grasped her shoulders, shaking her and bidding her to wake. Her head curled to lay on his shoulder, her breathing harsh as if each breath controlled her pain.

"Can you heal her?" he frantically asked Caelum.

"I'll try. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do anything," he replied, his hand hovering over his clenched fist on his staff. It emitted a soft mint light that passed onto Xion's prone form. It didn't appear to work as her HP remained the same. "Damn, it's not working!"

Despite what he said, she groaned beneath them, twitching under his grip. Suddenly, she gasped and sat up ramrod straight.

"Oh my-I remember! Vanitas, I remember who I am!" she blurted out, panting as if she ran a marathon.

"Gawrsh, you do?" Goofy pondered, searching for someone to confirm it.

"Yeah! It's weird, but some of it came rushing back to me."

"That can't be a coincidence," Riku said with such certainty as he scanned the main computer screen.

Mickey hovered by his elbow to silently read what was there. Max did the same and was kind enough to read out loud for the the room.

" _The past few days the other members have been showing me how to fight and do mission stuff,"_ he read. " _They also told me more about the Organization and about myself."_

He continued to read but Vanitas lost concentration after hearing that word. The tension in his body settled as he came to his conclusions about Xion. He knew for a fact she was an Organization XIII member for awhile now. To have verbal confirmation was both soothing and awful. What was he supposed to do with this information? Studying his friends, he absorbed how Caelum's face was grim and Max's teeth bit into his lip. Arty's was impossible to see with her back to them.

What was important was Mickey's reaction. As Max finished reading, his expression tightened.

"Do you mind me asking if you know who wrote this?" he asked Xion.

"I don't have a clue," she denied. "I think it might have been one of the other Organization members. I only have a few memories right now so I'm not entirely sure.

"What do you remember?" Donald followed up, crossing his arms and tapping his webbed foot.

"I can remember I joined Organization XIII as its fourteenth member. Someone was training me before I could start going on any missions."

"How can a group with thirteen in its name have a fourteenth member?" Caelum muttered, narrowing his eyes. It was a look Vanitas was well-versed in having been a victim of it for many years. Just like then it was unwarranted.

"I have no clue. They brought me in as soon as I found out I could use a Keyblade."

"Is that true? Show me!" Arty demanded.

"She can't-" Vanitas began to say to explain she couldn't summon one. All of that died as Xion held out her hand and a Keyblade-an exact copy of what he and Sora wielded-flashed into existence. There were various astonished noises all around. "That's...new."

"So you can summon a Keyblade?" Sora was in awe. He didn't miss how he had fallen asleep standing during their explanations. He inched closer to examine the shimmering gold handguard, making it appear more like a child's toy than a lethal weapon.

"I don't know why I can. I can use it since I managed to use Vanitas'. This is the first time I've managed to summon my own."

"Do you know why they recruited you?" asked Max, his fingers fiddling with his gloves' leather.

"I don't."

"Why is it you can't remember?" Arty abruptly blurted out. She frowned, eyes sharp, as she studied the other girl. "Why is it you got your memory back the moment I decode the journal entry Arun gave me?" She leaned closer in a move that was so intrusive but so Arty, caught up in facts, theories, and research, as if she could find out anything through sight alone. "Just who are you, number XIV? Why have we never met before? Think you could pull down your hood so we know for sure?"

As expected, Xion took a step back, physically blown away by Arty. Vanitas rolled his eyes. Arty may act like a sweetheart on the surface, but when possessed by her curiosity her intensity levels doubled. He had almost forgotten how bad it could get after everything that had happened.

He assumed she was shell-shocked and was too scared to comply. Then, her hand slowly rose to her head. It hesitated at the hem but gripped it and pulled it down to fall behind her neck.

From the moment he met her, he had wondered what Xion looked like Given her delicate stature and somewhat odd personality-warm around him, yet shy around others-he envisioned she must have been around Arty's age. He thought she resembled a doll with wide eyes, long hair, and a porcelain face.

What he got was a youthful face on the cusp of puberty-her pudgy cheeks and innocent ocean blue eyes-framed by a cute black bob. He was thrown off at her sheer resemblance to Kairi.

"Dear _Light_ , what is it with you and picking up cute girls?" Caelum lamented, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Xion offered him a confused smile that faded as Arty started to circle her, a vulture ready to pick for clues.

"I think I would remember a girl as young as you among the Organization members," she said carefully. Xion scooched closer to him. "After everything that's happened, I asked the real Riku about the other members. He told me names and appearances as well as their powers. None of them described a girl that could summon a Keyblade." She stopped, whirling on her heel. "Riku, do you think that extra data and the encrypted journal entries might contain info on why Xion is a thing?"

"There's a possibility. We won't know for sure until we decode the rest of the entries," he answered, observing everyone with a critical eye in a manner the real one never did.

"You mean the ones I decode. You're more useful at scanning your journal and its operations than I am."

"Right." As she turned away, he rolled his eyes. Vanitas grinned. "Arun, I'm going to link your user data to my laptop so Orion can automatically send me the encrypted files. It'll be easier than coming back here a lot."

"If you decode them, will Xion get more of her memories back?" he asked.

"It should in theory. This might be a coincidence or not. Who knows?"

"That's fine," said Xion, giving a sweet smile that Vanitas would deny he found cute. "As long as there's a chance for me to remember, I'll take it."

 _Be careful for what you wish for_ , he thought. Weeks ago he thought the same thing. Now there was a part of him that was wholeheartedly Arun the orphan boy that wished he hadn't. He desperately wished he could go back to a mundane life, unaware he was an artificial person. Vanitas, in his entirety, told Arun to shut the fuck up and deal with it. This was his life now.

"You do that," he said, locking all wishful thinking away for another self-pitying day. "Sora, Xion, let's move onto the next world. The faster we get this done, the sooner our friends can go back to the real world."

"Wait, what about us? We're going with you," said Max, reaching for his shield on his back in preparation.

"No, Max. You and everyone stay here." He tried to protest but Vanitas stopped him. "You don't understand how dangerous the datascape is. I can take losing his body if I'm in danger. You all-" He waved to the room to those whose cells had been turned into data," don't have that second chance. I'm not losing you."

"I think he's right," said Jiminy, solemn. "Out in the rest of the datascape we don't know what we'll see. If what he says is true, that mysterious data might catch us off guard."

"If we all fight together, won't we be fine?" Sora questioned in that optimistic outlook.

"I'm not risking it." Vanitas shook his head. He refused to put his friends in danger like that.

That didn't stop the worried looks plastered on Arty, Donald, Goofy, and Max's faces. Caelum tried not to show his worry, but his eyes were crinkled.

He sighed, sweeping his bangs across his forehead.

"It looks like your mind is set. You're stubborn as hell when it comes to stuff like this," he said. "Sora, Xion, promise you'll look out for him?"

Arty and Max made protests against such a thing. They were silenced by his stern glare.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he has a point. None of us are prepared for the datascape. You shouldn't be worrying about his safety when his real body is lounging in a chair. If he dies, we'll get to see him again. The same can't be said for us."

Max's whole body slumped. Even as he beset large eyes on him, he seemed to accept the decision. Arty buckled down, crossing her arms in clear teenaged defiance.

"I'm not okay with being left behind."

"You will not be." Orion's deep voice morphed to the tiny chime Vanitas had come to know. He flew off the scanner and landed on her shoulder. In a manner unlike him he laid a hand on her cheek. "I see now that Vanitas wishes for your safety most of all. He traversed multiple worlds in a foreign environment. His dedication is admirable."

Although he was certain no one could understand the bells, Arty's expression softened. She held out her hand. Orion knew the gesture and flew down to it.

"You promise you'll be okay?" she asked.

"We'll look after him." Sora came up to Vanitas' elbow, thumping a fist on his chest. "Me, Xion, and Vanitas will all stick together. We'll get you out of here."

She laughed. If it sounded forced, Vanitas wasn't willing to call her out on it.

"If that were coming from anyone else, I wouldn't believe them. You somehow always sound so earnest in making and keeping promises. I can't help but think you will."

"A-hyuck! That's our Sora," Goofy giggled.

"He'll never break a promise he makes to a girl," Donald snickered.

"I'd be lying if I said he doesn't," Riku said in exasperated fondness-an expression he would use around Arty.

"Hey, I do not!" Sora denied. The rising blush on his face betrayed his words. "Riku, you're supposed to be on my side! Help me out!"

"You got yourself into this mess the moment you started making promises to girls. I can't do anything to help you."

"You're so mean!"

"You've got interesting friends," Xion whispered to Vanitas. They watched Donald and Riku goad on Sora's embarrassment while the rest laughed. Her eyes were soft, a bit of longing fluttering through the blue shine.

"I guess they're okay." Vanitas shrugged nonchalantly. A mild annoyance settled in his temple, knowing their boisterous attitude would get on his nerves, as warmth settled on his heart. He was glad everyone was safe and together.

It didn't matter if they were trapped in a digitized journal. As cheesy as it sounded, as long as they were together he would fight to ensure their safety. Nothing would take this away from him.


	13. City in the Desert

Chapter 13

Vanitas exited the portal that Arty had created for them and was the last to arrive back at the Coliseum after Sora and Xion. It closed behind him as the cool air vanished along with it.

"Thanks, Arty," he said through the permanent communication line she had installed in his body's data. After the explanations had finished, she had fixed the odd glitches in his and Orion's data. It was at that time she had established the line.

" _No problem!_ " He could imagine her beaming at the screen. " _Now it shouldn't be too hard to open up a portal to the next world. Give us a second, okay?"_

"I find it stupid we can't open the way from the library." It was ridiculous how they had to return back to the Coliseum to open up the way. Why couldn't they do it from the library? But no, the link to getting there was at the last known glitch location.

"I think it's more fun this way," said Sora, unknown to all the bullshit Vanitas had encountered thus far.

"You would say that."

"I think so, too," Xion said, grinning at the sour expression he pulled. "It's not all that bad. We get to see a little bit of this world before we leave it behind."

"I'm surrounded by optimistic people," Vanitas said groaning. She was just as optimistic as Sora. He couldn't take these attitudes for long periods of time. He may have been older, but he couldn't be mature around fourteen-year-olds to save his life.

Orion poked his head out, glaring over Vanitas' shoulder.

"Someone's here," he warned.

His playfulness faded, and the other two lost their smiles in response. The three were on alert as they searched the area. Vanitas saw someone who definitely shouldn't have been there. Sora swiveled around to face the newcomer.

"Who are you? he asked.

Pete, of all people, gave a great belly laugh.

"Playin' dumb, eh?" he taunted.

" _Pete's here? How did you get in?_ " Mickey said astonished as much as Vanitas felt.

He thought that the commentary from the peanut gallery was all in his head. He didn't think Pete heard it as well until he was visibly startled. He searched around to locate their origins. He settled for glaring at the sky.

"Same way as youse did. Thought I'd take a little vacay from the outside world. Well this here world belongs to me, so mitts off!"

Like the coward he was, he fled towards the data portal in the corner of the courtyard. He jumped right in, disappearing into the data stream.

Seeing Pete there brought another complication to this mess, Vanitas thought as he ran for the portal. Mickey yelled for Sora and Xion to follow them. He ran into the portal, vision blurring white and all limbs going numb. The paralyzation didn't last for long. It took five seconds for his feet to touch a flat surface.

The new world's atmosphere immediately left him gasping for air. Hot arid wind overcame him, the sunlight frying him slowly through his clothes. In one passing thought all he wanted to do was strip his clothes so he could breathe. Shaking that away, he scanned the area and cursed. Pete was nowhere to be found.

Two heavy objects landed behind him, jogging to where he was.

"Did we lose him?" Xion pulled at her cloak's collar. She squirmed underneath the harsh sunlight threatening to roast her poor retinas.

"Yeah. God damn it!" Vanitas kicked a nearby block. There were stacks of them gathered in the area where the city gates were located. It moved a millimeter much to his rage. "Why is he here? Shouldn't he be dead?"

The last time they saw Maleficent's lackey and second-in-command was back on the Nobody world. In their stronghold Vanitas and his friends had been surrounded by Heartless. The witch and the bumbling recruiter had told them to let them face them while they handled the creatures she had once commanded. He and Caelum had hoped they would stay dead after what she had put Arty through. He should have known that they had survived.

"So you know him," Sora stated, glancing at the city around them. "He's like Mickey and the others and he was pulled into the datascape?"

"Sounds like it."

"Something tells me he's up to no good." He paused. "City's pretty quiet. You'd think it would be busier."

Vanitas and Xion fell silent. He finally noticed the city they were in-a high walled settlement where their homes were flat-topped and made with clay. Pots and boxes were strewn about near abandoned stalls, the winds stirring of sand particles through the gates facing the desert. Given how closely the buildings were built, this city had a large population.

Not a soul was in sight.

"Where is everybody?" Xion wondered, coughing at the sand swirls getting blown in her direction.

"I can sense they are all inside the buildings," Orion answered. He must not have thought such NPCs were important, because he didn't show them on the map. "No doubt they are hiding away given how the odd blocks have invaded their city. They have more common sense for unimportant data."

"Just how big is this city?" Vanitas asked.

" _It's about half the size of Radiant Garden but twice the population_ ," Mickey said as if reciting them from a book. " _Golly, that's a lot of people. How come you know that?"_

" _Riku-the real one-used to stop by Agrabah to get curry ingredients,"_ Arty replied. _"He said the Bazaar had all kinds of goods, but the spice market was amazing. He had fun haggling prices with the shop vendor."_

Sora snorted back a laugh.

"That sounds like him, all right. He probably sweet talked them or insulted their quality."

" _He actually did, yeah."_

"As much as I love talking about humiliating shopkeepers," Vanitas said, interrupting them unapologetically, "but we've got things to do. Since this city is huge, we should split up to search for Pete."

Sora grinned sheepishly and nodded along to his plan. It struck Vanitas, all of a sudden, how he was being rational and coming up with plans. It could have been because he was the one used to traveling through various worlds. Since when was this his life?

Lifting his eyes to the sky, praying this would be temporary, he instructed the two on where they should go. Sora and Xion followed through to go search the city. He sent Sora towards the Plaza and Main Street while Xion would take the back alleys where the more unsavory individuals hung around. Hopefully, she wouldn't run into any of them. Even if she had trouble, he was confident that she could take care of herself.

Vanitas made his way over to the Bazaar before he headed over to the palace himself. Turning to a side street, he picked his way through the boxes blocking his path. As per usual, Heartless showed up to distract him. They came in humanoid sword wielders dressed in baggy pants and vests and a variation of the big-bellied creatures dressed like fire breathers he would see in street performances. He used his _Blizzard_ magic to take down the latter, knowing he couldn't get to its weak point, and guarded and counterattacked the best he could. The ease at which he used the commands felt much smoother. Arty had pulled him aside earlier before he left to tell him about her program's Command features. He hadn't realized that he could create new Commands himself by combining his current ones.

Using a _Magnera_ and _Thundara_ in quick succession, he whittled down the Heartless to dust.

"You appear satisfied," Orion commented as he continued on his way.

"I feel it. I can fight on my own terms and change up my fighting style instead of getting stuck in a rut." Vanitas could change his commands to whatever he wanted when he wanted. He had no idea how much he had relied on being versatile until he was a slave to the Slot Command menu. Arty promised she would work on upgrades as he traversed the Datascape, but it wouldn't be the same as learning a technique and using it on the fly. He would be glad to be rid of this system when he returned home.

He continued down the street, destroying blocks whenever he could and killing Heartless. A pit formed in his stomach seeing what should be a sprawling city so empty. He knew the inhabitants were hiding inside as he noticed more than once how windows would slam shut in haste. Wherever he looked he saw no one, yet they could see him. Eyes came from every direction and it made his skin itch, tingling all over. He resisted the urge to scratch himself as he approached the end of the road.

The plaza area where the Bazaar was a gathering place for people to come and browse goods for sale. On a normal day he knew he would be jam packed in a sea of people, bumping shoulders to squeeze on by.

Today wasn't a normal day.

The Bazaar was as silent as a grave, stalls set up everywhere. They were a skeleton of their former selves, their wares gone and their surfaces bare. Wind stirred up sand particles and whistled in his ears. Vanitas had to cover his eyes to keep them from stinging his retinas.

"I don't believe you will find any information here," Orion said blandly. "If you can get anything from that seller, I will be pleasantly surprised. I doubt you will though."

In the corner of the Bazaar was a short dark-skinned man in a blue robe and had on a turban as tall as him. Behind him was a sleeping camel, its saddlebags open for easy easy to reach inside for hidden treasures. The seller was despondent as he sighed deeply at the empty marketplace.

Every part of Vanitas advised him to avoid the vendor. He knew that type. They were the kind of person to say anything and everything to sell their wares. They would dig their claws into an unfortunate schmuck and would refuse to release them until they foisted off their items. He had personally never been approached by one, but he had seen Arty and Liam get subjected to their gentle graces. Most sellers avoided him because the moment they tried to make eye contact they saw his amber eyes. Then, they would back off.

Sometimes it helped to have creepy eyes.

As Vanitas made his way over to the vendor, the man perked up. Straightening his turban and turning his customer service smile up to eleven, he tried to make eye contact. The second their eyes met his mouth snapped shut.

"Ah, um, sorry, good sir, but I'm afraid I'm closed," the vendor stammered, scrambling to pack up his things. Pots clanked against each other dangerously close to breaking.

Bemused, Vanitas said, "I'm not going to rob you. I'm looking for some information."

"And what sort of information?"

"If you tell me what I need to know, I'll buy something from your shop."

The vendor's body went ramrod straight. Vanitas figured it would. In every single world money was the only language people were willing to speak.

"Yes, yes sir, of course. Whatever you need I shall provide." He unfurled his bag, the contents spilling on the ragged carpet he set up as his shop. Nothing there caught his eye except for the healing items he would surely need. "Please, please, come closer. Another day of zero sales and I was ready to pack my camel."

 _Sure you were_ , he thought, shaking his head. It was amazing how greed could override self-preservation. To sate the seller, he browsed the Potion supply. He rose an inquisitive eyebrow spotting the Mega-Potion and the Elixir. How the hell did this guy get something so rare like that? Seeing how he didn't have the funds for something so expensive, he bought up a majority of the Potions and Ethers. He hoped quantity would appease the man knowing almost his whole Potion stock had been bought. The merchant counted the bottles, his face beaming and a greedy glint in his eyes. He handed over the Potions and took Vanitas' money.

"I bought your stock, so tell me what I need to know," he said curtly, pocketing the items.

"Of course, of course. What is it you need to know?"

"What happened to the city?"

The vendor shook his head in dismay.

"There is not much to tell, good sir. One day we were besieged by these blocks," he explained beginning to pack away his things again. "And then those awful creatures appeared tearing down stalls and attacking people. The City Guards have tried to get rid of them to no avail. After they saw how useless the guards were against them, the citizens decided they were better off remaining inside. Not only that, the sultan has not made any move to try to get rid of them and there have been rumors about his Royal vizier was behind this. He has been seen walking the streets as if he were unafraid of the creatures. Some say he was the one to have summoned them in the first place." He shrugged. "Then again, those are just rumors. who truly knows?"

That wasn't much of a surprise. If people saw the guards, who were supposed to keep the peace, not able to fight for and creatures, he would be scared as well. That begged one question.

"Why are you out here then? You can't get many customers in this place," he stated.

"A man must make a living. If I get even a small fraction of coin, I will risk it." The vendor finished his packing. He bowed his head to Vanitas. "Now that I have made a sale, I shall be going."

He mounted his camel and made his way out the Bazaar, weaving through the blocked path. With his departure Vanitas was alone.

"Did any of that information prove to be useful to you?" Orion came out to stretch his wings, lazily moving around to examine the abandoned wares.

"We learned how the ruler of the city is useless and there are rumors about the Royal Vizier," Vanitas answered, leaving the area as well. There was nothing more to do there and he thought it was best to meet with everyone else again.

"And what does that tell us?"

"It tells us who might be using this mess to their advantage and how Pete might help them use this if they haven't started already." He wouldn't put it past the guy to do such a thing. He had done it several times in the real world during both his and Sora's adventures. "If this Royal Vizier is as scummy as the vendor says, we'll need to take a look into it."

"Shall we head to the Palace?"

"Yeah. If there isn't anything there, then we can cross it off our list of places to check out."

Orion bobbed in agreement. He flew back to his hood, the map adjusting to display a yellow marker. He followed it as the display filled out.

The path to the palace was spent in a disquiet silence. Vanitas retraced his steps back to the portal area to get a better idea of the area. Every so often, he was pulled into skirmishes that he swiftly dealt with, destroying Heartless and blocks as he went. Other than his grunts and battle cries, he went in complete silence. He twitched knowing that he hated this atmosphere to begin with. All he wanted to do was talk to make noise, but he decided against it. He didn't want to embarrass himself anymore than he had already.

He endured it as much as he could while keeping his mouth zipped. Making his way through the city was stressful, but he somehow managed it. Through all of the main road to the gleaming white palace, blocks were scattered around the otherwise empty streets. They piled on top of one another and blocked most doors. A majority of them he had identified as the unbreakable grey ones, yet there were a few that were too odd to be broken as well. He relied on his creative side to deal with those in order to get to the silver treasures blocks out of reach. Learning how to climb up them and using stacked blocks as stepping stones, he was able to get a couple good items he could use in the future.

Vanitas continued on and kept his gaze fixed on the golden-tipped towers high above the skyline far more extravagant than anything around it. Soon enough, the closer he got the less blocks that were stacked around. One of his companions must have gotten there before him. At the archway, the palace's eighteen meter high gates in sight, he caught up to Sora as he hit a treasure block. Its shell fractured into ones and zeros, dropping the items it held within.

"Are you out of Potions?" he asked as Sora stooped down to pick them up.

He shook his head, pocketing them.

" _He's such a liar. He's always out of Potions and Ethers,"_ Donald grumbled on Vanitas' personal line.

"Here, you can have a couple of mine. I had to clean out a merchant's whole stock to get information." He took out the appropriate amount that he didn't need and handed them over. Sora's relieved and grateful eyes spoke volumes about how true Donald's statement was.

"What did you find out?" Vanitas relayed the information the vendor told him, telling him the basics. Sora's eyebrows scrunched together. "That...doesn't sound good. Is that why you were headed this way?"

"It seemed like the best lead I had."

"Then let's go! Maybe we'll find Pete?"

He shrugged. He knew it would be too good to be true if Pete did turn out to be there.

They ventured through the archway to the fortified wooden gates that belonged to the impressive palace anyone could see throughout the city. As they came closer, wandering into the plaza area, Vanitas rolled his eyes at the usual eyesores that were the blocks. They weren't alone as they believed as they also spotted one human soul in the vicinity. It was a young man around Vanitas' actual age. With his back to them all he could make out were the patched baggy trousers, threadbare purple vest, his sun-beaten brown skin standing out. The fact he was barefoot and dressed in such a way sent a rush of nostalgia through him. He remembered being in that state once upon a time.

Without fear or reservation Sora approached the young man. "Hey there! Why are you out here while everyone's indoors?"

The young man whirled around. The way he held himself was cautious, his hand reaching for something in his trouser pockets. Brown eyes set on an equally grimy face was cast into a hard glare until they landed on them. From the glance between them, it wasn't difficult to tell he was marveling at their identical features. Vanitas rolled his eyes. When were people going to get over that?

"Strange blocks? Weird monsters? Pick a reason," the man said. "As for me, I got back to the city to find this had happened. I managed to escape from that cave, but I've got to make sure my friend from the palace is safe, so-" He paused, perplexion sweeping across his face. "Hey, should you two be out here? It's not safe on the streets."

"So why are you out here?" Vanitas shot back. He may have been young, yet he could care of himself where most young adults his age still relied on their parents.

He chuckled. Rather than being offended, he was bemused. "You got me. If you've gotten here this far, you can take care of yourselves. Well just keep both eyes open, okay? You look like you've been through your share of adventures."

"Will do." He felt the conversation was over by this point and he turned to leave. However, as they did so, the man thought of something and stopped them.

"Sure what's up?" Sora took up the lead, eager to please.

"Now that I think about it my friend might not be here. Her name's Jasmine and she's, well, special." He grinned a bit too wide. Ooh, Vanitas knew that type of behavior. "I've been worried sick, but I can't seem to track her down. I'll keep checking around the palace. If it's alright-"

"Say no more," he interrupted, an all-too-knowing smile on his face. "We're looking for someone, too, so we'll keep an eye out for her while we search the city. It's no trouble."

"Great! You guys are lifesavers. I'm Aladdin by the way."

Sora made the introductions as enthusiastic as ever to make new friends. Vanitas managed a small nod of acknowledgement, letting him handle the rest of the conversation. He and Aladdin chatted for a bit as they promised to keep an eye out for his girl and they left to go about searching for a way past the gates. They trekked back to main street for a minute. Then, once they were far enough away, Vanitas' hearing crackled.

" _Oh geez. He's talking about Princess Jasmine, isn't he?"_ Arty asked, her horror causing the speakers to screech. " _Typical! Of course she's going to be here. What else would this damn journal contain other than remind me what a dumb fourteen year old I was?"_

"You know her?" he asked. Sora lifted his eyebrows to silently inquire, and he mouthed Arty's name.

" _She's a Princess of Heart that she had to pass everyday back when she worked for Maleficent,"_ Caelum said as people muttered in the background. " _Arty still feels guilty that she hadn't done anything to help them."_

" _More like embarrassed,"_ said Max, snickering. " _She looks like she's about to die on the spot."_

" _I haven't apologized to any of them for what happened,"_ she said, a slight whine at the end of her words. " _I know none of it was my fault, but I never did anything to help them. I stood by and let them lose their hearts."_

"That wasn't your fault," he said in an attempt to comfort her. She was beating herself up for her part in helping Maleficent try to take over the worlds. She had yet to cease thinking about it, reminded of her mistakes each time she traveled to the Radiant Garden castle. "Whatever you did back then you're making up for it now. Don't think about it."

" _I can't help it. This whole journal is a reminder that I messed up for your sake."_

From the other end, Caelum's exhale was loud enough to smother the microphone in the noise. " _Now look what you did. You've made her upset again. Is that all you're good for?"_

" _I'm not upset!"_ The crackling ended, marking the end to the conversation.

His last remark snapped the last of Vanitas' patience. He growled and kicked at a black block. Everything he did always managed to make Arty upset. Each action and word was enough to unearth painful memories she had tried to bury. Why couldn't he do something for once to make her smile? Hearing her sink to that demeanor made him feel like he was kicked in the gut.

"What happened?" Sora asked in a slow manner, suggesting he was trying to be considerate.

"Just something stupid. Ah forget it!" Vanitas said curtly. "Let's get moving already. Let's find this friend and leave this world."

He stalked off down the street at a brisk pace, turning whatever corner that emerged in his path. Sora called after him, but he never lagged. He went as far as to climb a ledge and head through an archway into a side alley to avoid the awkward question Sora embodied.

His short temper fizzled out a few minutes later and was enough for him to clear his head. He stopped and leaned against a wall. Closing his eyes, he breathed in slow and steady to control his raging pulse.

"Your heart rate has accelerated tremendously in the past three minutes," Orion informed him. "Are you, perhaps, upset? I have learned that it is normal for you to be that way when your pulse picks up."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Your conversation with Lady Arty suggests that you take offense to the topic. Your heart rate picked up shortly after you conversed. Why?"

"What, you don't know?"

"Would I need to ask you if I did?"

That was true. However, he couldn't believe that Arty wouldn't have run her mouth off about personal issues around her own creation. But, when he thought about it, this was a sensitive subject. She was so ashamed of what she had done she had not spoken of it until Maleficent forced her to. She wouldn't have acknowledged it existed to Orion.

"There was an incident that made Arty have a serious lapse of judgement. She still beats herself up for it to this day. I don't like the fact that she does."

"I see. However, it is illogical for Lady Arty to continue lamenting over an event that has happened some time ago," said Orion, matter-of-factly. "If it hinders her ability to proceed, then she should either accept its existence or forget it altogether."

"If only it were that simple," Vanitas snorted. "For programs like you it would be easy to delete data with that information. For us humans it's difficult to forget things like that. We'll look at the past and keep thinking about our mistakes, sometimes haunting us for years. But it's those mistakes that help us learn from them and improve."

He had learned that forgetting such memories were beneficial to no one. Even though it hurt to see Arty agonize over her mistakes, he knew it helped her to never cross that line again.

"I see," Orion hummed thoughtfully. "You Users are truly illogical. You contradict yourselves and somehow live your lives in that manner. I will never understand you."

"Don't worry. Neither do I."

Speaking to Orion helped Vanitas' blood to calm. Once he had, guilt replaced his anger as he reflected on his treatment to Sora. The data version was innocent in causing Arty misery. However, he was a part of the journal that reminded Arty of her guilt. He needed to apologize to him the next he saw him. For now he should do what Sora promised Aladdin and find Jasmine.

Seeing as how he was a ledge, he chose to survey the city with a higher perspective. The rooftops were made with a flat design, the buildings built at various heights, so they were ideal to move about. With the box-shaped bugs dotted across any empty space it also made it possible for him to climb as well to another rooftop. He jumped atop a stack, crossed the rooftop, and dropped down to a lower roof to begin scouring the city for a sign for this so-called 'Jasmine.'

He searched for some time. The sun bore down behind him as the ariad wind stirred the sand particles into a swirling dance. He was certain in the actual Agrabah he would be drenched in sticky sweat given how the air was hot enough to sizzle. Ignoring the heat, he peered down at the streets and alleys between the openings. Save for the blocks, the streets were empty and silent. He doubted the citizens were doing anything in their homes to warrant too much noise.

Because of this, he backtracked to the palace. He was close enough to be in the Palace spire's shade when he was suddenly startled by a noise emitting from the main street's direction. He paused mid-step. Listening for the noise, he made out raised voices. Without a thought he changed directions, leaping across roofs, and dashed once he recognized Sora's cracking timbre in that mess. Orion brought up the map display to drop a pin on the location, revealing it took place in a cramped little nook. In the area were three dots: two yellow ones and the last red. He took his attention off it as he drew closer to the nook, peering over the edge.

Below him, he spotted Sora's spiky hair on the ground level. His head whipped side-to-side to try and spot a red and black blur swarming about on different ledges out of his reach. Vanitas couldn't tell what it was as it kept teleporting from one spot to another. Sora's nose was scrunched up, his frustration visible even as he followed the blur and swung his Keyblade around to hit it.

It stopped long enough to let loose a high-pitched cackle. It was the kind that Vanitas used himself whenever he toyed with a weaker enemy. The one who made such a sound was the thinnest man he had ever laid eyes on, his figure swathed in crimson-lined robes. In his hand was a golden staff with a cobra-shaped ornament. Ruby gems replaced its eyes that glinted in its magical power.

"Foolish boy, do you think you can stand against me?" the man taunted, flicking his hand. Flames came to life in his fingertips and were hurled at a crate on the ground level. Before it could touch, Sora threw himself in its path and swung his Keyblade sideways to bounce it back. Unsure why he would do that, Vanitas spotted a huddled form behind the box, a trail of thick black hair lying on the ground.

"Big talk for someone who's running away," said Sora, a haughty look set in his chin tilt. "What kind of guy goes after an innocent girl?"

The man's long gaunt face twisted into a snarl.

"You are nothing but a street rat," he hissed. He lifted his staff high to produce a fireball big enough to engulf Sora and the girl he was protecting. There was no way he would be able to hit that back.

Vanitas could no longer standby and watch. He maneuvered around the rooftops until he was directly behind where the man was. He dropped down behind him, raised his Keyblade, and brought it straight down on his back between his shoulders. The man shrieked as he was knocked out the air, his spell fizzling out before it could form, and landed ungracefully on his backside. Meanwhile, Vanitas landed in a knelt position.

"How's it feel to get your butt kicked by a street rat?" he taunted, sliding back up to stand.

The man scrambled to his feet. He sneered at him as he fixed his turban.

"Laugh now, boy, but this is far from over." He raised his staff. Colorful smoke engulfed him and, like a stage magician, he was gone.

"That was underwhelming," Orion said, his distaste dripping in every syllable.

"Tell me about it." Vanitas wrinkled his nose. For a supposed great sorcerer he ran at the first sight of trouble. Was it normal for villains to always retreat and disappear? Shaking his head of their foolishness, he dismissed his Keyblade. "Hey Sora, you manage to find Aladdin's friend?"

"I did. Jasmine," said Sora to the ball tucked behind the crate, "you can come out now. That creep's gone."

The hair tail moved as the person stood. Vanitas sucked in a breath as a girl around Arty's age came out. She was dressed in baggy teal trousers and a matching cropped top tailored to show off her midriff and curves. They were the singular spot of color against her dusky skin and her charcoal hair braided in one long tail. His gaze trailed over her figure more than he liked to admit.

"Thank you, Sora," she said, her voice soft like the silk she wore so casually. She turned to Vanitas with a smile not betraying any reaction to his identical appearance. "Who might you be? You must be a friend of Sora's."

"Something like that," he said, tearing his wandering gaze up to her brown eyes. "Why was that guy bothering you in the first place?"

"Jafar? It's absolutely infuriating," the girl, Jasmine, said, huffing her displeasure. "He is the Royal Vizier, the sultan's most trusted assistant and advisor. At least he is supposed to be, but he is nothing but a lying snake bent on taking my father's position. By marrying me!"

"That's…." he trailed off, nausea rearing its ugly head at the image. Jafar looked to be a middle-aged man while Jasmine was a teenager. The age gap made him shudder, too disgusted to think of the intimate acts they would engage in. "Good thing we stepped in. If he thought he could be sultan by marrying you, does that mean you're a princess?"

"Really?" Jasmine nodded and Sora whistled, impressed. "No wonder he was after you. But why, though?"

"I'm not sure. I do know besides marrying me he's plotting something terrible. I just know it. But when I tried to warn everyone in the palace no one believed me. Jafar is respected in our city. They couldn't imagine he would scheme against the sultan."

"You'd think they'd listen to their princess when she accuses someone of treason," said Orion.

"What's going on with this city?" Sora asked, a wrinkle forming between his brows.

"I'm not sure," said Jasmine again. "Other than that, these strange blocks gave Jafar the excuse he needed to make his move. While everyone was distracted by the chaos, he tried to capture me and hold me hostage."

"Does Aladdin know about him?"

"No, not yet. By the way, how do you know Aladdin?"

"We ran into him in front of the palace," Vanitas said. "He said he escaped from some cave." As he spoke about the young man, her face brightened. A sly smile made its way to his face. "Sounds like someone's going to be very happy his feelings are mutual."

"He's alive. Oh that's wonderful." Jasmine clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes glistening in her relief.

Sora hummed, his grin matching Vanitas'. "He was worried sick about you. Let's go find him and you can get the full story."

Jasmine agreed, and the two began to discuss the fastest route to the Palace. As they did, Vanitas realized, in his horror, that they would be escorting another defenseless princess. He hadn't forgotten what happened in the Beast's world. He may have had another fighter there, but he wasn't going to take his chances.

They walked out the side nook and he was forced to follow. Barely more than a few steps out, they were accosted by Heartless. Vanitas sighed, reluctantly going to assist Sora in another princess escort job.

He really needed to stop helping out defenseless girls.


	14. Master of the Lamp

Chapter 14

Unlike the first time Vanitas was forced to escort a defenseless princess, he had learned his lesson and knew what to do. As he and Sora made their way back to the palace with Princess Jasmine, they made certain to keep her between them at all times. Whenever Heartless appeared one of them would go off to hunt down the creatures before they got to close while the other person stayed near her, firing spells or throwing their Keyblades to pick them off.

Just like Belle, the Heartless honed in on the unaware Princess of Heart. Because of that affinity, Vanitas chose to hover by Jasmine who often ran for cover behind abandoned stalls and the blocks. It made his life remarkably easier to zap Heartless when they drew too close for comfort. That left Sora free to wreak havoc on the annoying creatures, wiping them out with a swipe of his Keyblade.

As they moved through the streets systematically wiping out any Heartless they came across, Orion occasionally popped out of his hiding spot always on the lookout.

"You are having a far easier time protecting the princess than the last time you did this," he observed as they walked cautiously through the city.

"Don't remind me," Vanitas murmured low enough so he wasn't heard by Sora or Jasmine. "It's because last time I had to babysit both Xion and Belle. Sora's a decent enough figher so I don't have to freak out over every little move."

"Speaking of Xion, where has she gone?"

" You're not able to locate her?"

"She has wandered out of the sections you have explored. Wherever she has gone has been uncharted."

"I'm sure she's fine." A few hours ago he would have been worried she had gone off on her own. Now that she had a Keyblade he was sure she could protect yourself.

"I find your trust in her uncomprehending," said Orion. "However, with Lady Arty watching, I do not believe suspecting her is worth the CPU power. Wherever she is I do not think she is doing anything to plot against you."

"Don't tell me you're finally starting to trust her? It's about time you did," he said teasingly.

"As I have said, it is not worth my time worrying about such trivial matters." He went back inside his hood, ending the conversation with a haughty huff.

Vanitas fought back a grin as he caught up to Sora and Jasmine. They asked him why he was like that but he reassured them that it was nothing. They accepted it and quickly moved on. It might have partly been because, as they entered the plaza, they had not expected to find Aladdin wandering about. He peered into pots and skirted around the blocks for any hidden enemies. He spotted them, and a smile bloomed on his face.

"Jasmine, you're okay!"

"Aladdin," Jasmine said her voice ringing through the air, running to meet him. "I'm so glad you're alright. I wish the same could be said for Agrabah."

"Don't worry. I've got the answer to our problems right here." He reached into his trouser pocket behind him, grasping what looks be a beating up oil lamp made of solid gold. It had to have cost a pretty penny. He continued on at their inquisitive looks. "See, I was inside this weird cave in the desert and found this inside. Wait till you see what it is! Jafar's days are numbered."

Vanitas knew he was supposed to be impressed but he wasn't. It looked to be a regular lamp. How could it stop a madman like Jafar?

"We shall see about that, street rat."

Jafar's voice was disembodied and came from everywhere. Vanitas saw a black stain appear to his left. He couldn't react fast enough when Jafar appeared behind Jasmine, grabbing her around the waist and trapping her arms behind her. There was nothing either he or Sora could do. They weren't fast enough to stage a rescue.

"Let... me go," she she said, struggling in his grasp. For such a lean man he was definitely strong.

"Now all of Agrabah belongs to me," the Royal Vizier said, a gleeful smile stretching his thin lips. "With the princess for my wife I shall rule this land as sultan."

"No way," said Sora in disbelief.

"Yes way. You see, the lamp has given me a most remarkable power. No one can defy me now."

From within his black robes, he was drew the same oil lamp that Aladdin had his grasp.

"A lamp?" asked Aladdin, unable to believe his eyes.

"Sadly," Jafar said before he could say anything else, "weddings do take time to plan. And since I'm the one speaking now, you wretches can forever hold your peace." He raised his staff, its ruby eyes glittering in the sunlight. The thousands of facets flared and blinded them all as they cried out, raising their hands to shield their precious retinas.

Once Vanitas' vision stopped burning, he thought everything had taken on an emerald hue. Rubbing them, he saw that it wasn't only his eyes. Everything had taken on a new shade as if his vision had on a camera filter. In the blinding moment Jafar had disappeared along with Jasmine.

"No they're gone!" Sora wildly searched the area for a sign of them. "Quick, we have to go after them."

While Vanitas acquiesced, there was no response from Aladdin. It struck him as odd seeing as how he had watched his ladylove get kidnapped. Turning to the young street rat, all thoughts about that died. Aladdin was simply standing where he was. He didn't seem to be breathing and it was almost as if he had been frozen. Sora approached the body, tiptoeing towards him like he was afraid to wake him.

"What gives? Arty, got anything to say about this?" Vanitas asked.

" _Jafar has hit the city with some kind of powerful spell_ ," Mickey said in her stead.

" _It looks like a time spell,_ " Caelum said as a follow-up. It didn't surprise Vanitas that he had answered given how he was studying advanced magic. " _Jafar has somehow managed to stop time for the entire city. It's even affected things and people like Aladdin._ "

"Then why can we still move?" Sora questioned, moving to examine the rest of the frozen world.

" _You two have the Keyblade. Jafar didn't account for that,_ " Riku explained. " _But even that has limitations. It can't hold the spell it they forever._ "

"I recommend leaving the city if you do not wish to be frozen as well," Orion said in a grave tone.

"What about Aladdin? We can't just leave him in the city like this." Sora waved to the young man.

Vanitas had mixed feelings about what to do. On the one hand it would be a dick move to leave Aladdin to Jafar's 'mercies.' Not just that, they would be leaving Jasmine to that disgusting man. He wasn't okay leaving her to deal with that. On the other hand he could care less about helping out a city he had no connection to. He wouldn't get anything out of it.

His indecision was put on hold as a red blotch entered his field of vision, flapping wings breaking the quiet. It turned out to be a red parrot, its wings and tail dipped in blue.

"Well it's about time Jafar used his little 'present' to stir up some sand around here," said the parrot. His voice was raspy and high as if it had a perpetual cough that garbled each word. It flew around at its leisure and circled the area. "Good thing he set things up so I don't turn into a still life like those other chumps. Now it's my turn to rule the roost." It spotted Aladdin, dropping low to examine the lamp still in his grasp. "And hello, is that what I think it is?"

When it got close to it Vanitas and Sora reacted to it, dashing to snatch the lamp before it was too late. It was closer so it managed to do so. Slippery talons yanked the golden object out of Aladdin's fingertips and flew back into the sky beyond their reach.

"Give that back," said Vanitas, jabbing his finger down as he would with a naughty dog.

"Ain't ya ever heard of the three-talon discount?" it asked. "Jafar wouldn't tell me what this lamp does, but whatever it is it's gonna make me one happy parrot."

It took off over the rooftops, the lamp's gold catching the light. Its blue tipped tail was the last they saw of it, swishing as if to slap their pride once more.

"Great. Now what?" asked Sora, rubbing his forehead and brought away his hand, fingertips slick with sweat.

" _Guys, you've got to get the lamp back,"_ Mickey said, his pitch wavering in his urgency. " _There's a friend inside that can help you out."_

"What do you mean 'inside?'" They weren't entirely sure what that meant. Glancing at one another for an answer, Sora said, "If you say so, okay. We'll try to go after it."

"We do not have much time to waste. If that is the case, it may be more efficient to help as well." Orion came out of his hiding spot, tiny wings taking flight. Vanitas had no clue what he was doing until he zipped over the rooftops after the parrot.

"Where're you going?" Vanitas didn't know what that stupid AI was doing. He ran to the nearest block to climb up the lower rooftops. Getting onto the edge, he paused and said over his shoulder to Sora, "You keep to the ground. If you spot the parrot, get him. Don't waste time."

He took his own advice as he sprinted through the archway before him that led back to the main street. Slipping past the blocks in his way, he peered down to the street level. Sora came into sight and he darted around the still figures standing frozen. Well, well who knew that the spell also affected the Heartless? That was good for them. It was bad enough they had to race against time on top of this.

He focused on the map hoping that Orion and the parrot would appear. Orion's present dot did show up but he was unsure what to make of the pattern it went through. It flew all over the place sometimes going in corkscrews and backtracking several times. The bird must have been giving him for a run for his money. Vanitas followed after the dot where it was headed back to the palace.

Leaping across the rooftops, hopping across the blocks that formed a path for him, he squeezed past a few towers to reach the area as an obnoxious scream like scraping nails shattered his eardrums.

"Leave me alone, ya stupid mosquito!"

"Give me that lamp. You have no need for it," came Orion's voice.

"I don't know what you said, but your mother!"

He lifted his head, squinting against the bright sky. There were two shadows whirling around each other. His eyes adjusted for him to see a tiny form chasing after the parrot in a wild game of air tag. All he could catch was the bird's poppy colored wings and the sparkles that trailed after the little fairy AI. The bird dipped low close to where he stood. He took the chance to jump as high as he could as the lamp dropped low enough for him to snatch. His fingertips brushed against the smooth gold bottom before it was pulled up.

"Hands off," said the bird, flapping his wings to propel itself back up. Then it had to readjust his position to dodge Orion's lunge. "C'mon, two-on-one ain't fair. You can't gang up on me like this."

"If you weren't caught using your discount, we wouldn't be here right now," Vanitas said. He hopped down to a lower rooftop to chase after it. The parrot was at ground level before him and it pulled into the air when, suddenly, Sora dove from the plaza entrance, hands stretched out to grab hold. Somehow, it slipped through his fingers. He hit the ground, dust flying and obscuring their vision. They coughed as it got into their eyes, giving the bird the chance to fly above their heads again.

"Please, you have to give that back," said Sora, attempting to plead with it. He stood and made his eyes softer to make it take pity on him.

"Oh I'm sorry," said the parrot in mock apology. "I had no idea it meant so much to you. Now I know it's worth hangin' on to. Buh-bye."

It fled the area, and the chase began anew. Orion was the first to go after him while Vanitas and Sora were close behind.

They went about the general area-Vanitas and Orion on the high ground while Sora was on the ground-as they attempted to catch the agile bird. It was easy to spot the feathers amidst the clay homes and they were a beacon for them to follow. Orion remained close to it, dogging him at every turn. No matter how agile or aerodynamic it thought it was he was always there to follow each movement. His wings gave him the depth to turn sharp corners and stop. If he had been able to do that the entire time, Vanitas wouldn't have called him useless so much.

They chased it all over the city backtracking into areas as they blocked off its paths. Eventually, they drove it into another back alley. Having run it ragged, it was closer to the ground to try and catch its breath. Sora, the closest one to it, vaulted over a crate and sprang over to snatch the lamp.

At the last moment it sensed him coming and pulled up. Before Sora could go after it or let Vanitas try to jump down, something odd happened. Like a desert mirage, an apparition in Jafar's likeness appeared between the parrot and Sora, flinging forward to pass through him and vanish.

Sora fell to his knees, bringing alarm to Vanitas. The parrot used this distraction to get away and headed back to the main street. Orion hesitated, bouncing between Sora's direction and the parrot's.

"Go on without us! I'll take care of Sora," said Vanitas, leaping down without using the other rooftops. He landed next to Sora while the fairy AI went after the parrot. Dropping on one knee, he gave a cursory glance over his form. "What did that thing do to you?"

" _You two need to be careful,"_ said Mickey, shaken by Sora's condition. " _It looks like Jafar made a bunch of phantoms to come try and stop you. If they touch you, they'll steal what little time you have left. Stay away from them."_

"How does that make sense?" He hauled Sora back to his feet. "Is it through magic or is it a system glitch?"

" _Might be a bit of both,_ " said Caelum as the two continued their endeavor to catch that stupid bird. " _The lamp copy in Jafar's possession is obviously a glitch."_

" _But that could have enhanced Jafar's own magical powers to freeze time, right?"_ asked Max in his own quizzical tone.

" _I don't remember if Jafar's magic was that strong before the lamp,_ " Goofy said to chime in.

Vanitas would have listened to the discussion about magic, but he couldn't focus when, around a corner, another Jafar apparition came to steal their ability to remain mobile. Yanking Sora's sleeve and pulling him out of the ghost's path, they picked up the pace to try and outrun it.

Instead of trying to keep up with the parrot, they were now fleeing to avoid becoming like Aladdin. Having a ghostly Vizier come to steal their magic holding the stasis spell at bay prompted them to throw caution to the wind and hunt down the bird as swiftly as they could. They leapt over the blocks, using them as leverage to leap into the air to close the distance between them and their target. The entire time they did so the thing screamed itself hoarse, vowels gurgling at a high frequency that could curdle milk with its unattractive sound.

They traveled the city, circling it without any real intention to do so, until they finally managed to corner it in another alleyway. Once it flew onto one of the higher ledges, Vanitas leapt up to grab the ledge ignoring the box he could have used to step on and pulled himself up. Yet, as he landed on it, he spotted a transparent cape and a deep cackle and he was suddenly enveloped in a freezing cold spot that sent chills through his body. It was like his whole body had stopped functioning, his lungs unable to draw air and his heart strangled to stay still. Losing control of all his motor skills, he tilted backward and careened over the ledge. The short drop had him landing on something solid and warm, a grunt beneath him signaling it was Sora.

The fall broke the tension that had seized him. Drawing a gasping breath, he rolled off the other boy. He placed a hand on his chest and tried to calm himself. Good Light, that was an awful experience! Was that what Sora felt when Jafar had passed through him? It wasn't something he wished to repeat a second time.

Suddenly, he heard a scream on the ledge.

"What's that you got there, birdie?" Xion's voice was a welcome sound as the bird's scream overwhelmed it.

"Get your hands off me, toots! I stole this fair and square! Ah! I plead insanity!"

"You shouldn't take things that aren't your's."

"Forget this! I ain't stickin' around you chumps! You're all crazy!"

The parrot reappeared in the sky, taking off to the city's skyline. Vanitas didn't see the lamp in its greedy talons.

Xion stepped over to the ledge. She peered down at them, her shadow providing some shade to save their eyelids. On her shoulder sat Orion while in her hands she held the beat up lamp.

"You got it back." Sora cheered as she dropped down. "Way to go! We were chasing that parrot everywhere."

"I didn't do anything," she said, ducking her head down as her fringe covered her eyes. "All I did was catch that bird. I was looking around like we were told and saw it flying around. I didn't expect Orion to be chasing it, so I thought I would try to help him."

"It's a lot more than either me or Sora could do." Vanitas held out his hand and beckoned for her to hand it over. She did so as Orion returned to his hood, a smirk on his face that was out of place on Ventus' face. He held up the lamp to study its scuffed surface. It had certainly seen better days. "Why would Aladdin think this was valuable? If this is real gold, I've seen some in better condition."

"He found it in that cave he mentioned, right?" asked Sora, examining it himself as Vanitas raised it up to his mouth. He exhaled on it so his breath fogged the metal, then moved it to his shirt hem to rub it. Maybe the gold would shine a bit better. All it need was a quick rub and it would look halfway decent. He swiped the fabric across the scuffed surface.

Suddenly, the lamp vibrated violently in a desperate bid to escape his hands. He held on as glittering smoke came out the hooked spout to gather and mold a figure. There was so much of it the figure it formed was humanoid-arms and a head attached to bulging torso-and scaled larger than the three teens combined.

The creature had its back to them, stretching its arms high as it made a satisfied groan.

"Took ya long enough to call on me. Troubles, Al? Is it just me or has a green filter been used on this place? Well-" Its voice was deceptively male and light. Its head swayed side-to-side to look around. It turned around and spotted them. "Hey, wait, you're not Al."

"Aladdin's out of commission right now 'cause of a nasty time spell," said Vanitas, glancing down at the lamp in his hands and the giant creature before them. He handed it to Xion where she had taken refuge to hide during the startling event. "Mind telling us who you are and what are you? It's not everyday we see someone like you come out of a tiny lamp."

"The name's Genie. Last name 'of the Lamp,'" it- _he-_ replied, smiling so wide his teeth gleamed. "Hey, how you doin'. Ya got, like, issues, man? Just make a wish. Problems solved. Wrongs righted. Service while you wait!"

Genie, with his fast manner of speech like a salesman, made a finger gun gesture and made a table appear laden with dessert trays and a turkey, juicy and fresh out of the oven. Sora and Xion gasped in awe as he transformed his attire (not that it had one beyond its baggy blue pants) to a button up shirt, black vest, and slacks. The two rushed to the table to sample the delicacies. Vanitas stood his ground.

"Hang on. We can make any wish?" he asked, ever suspicious. While his stomach was often ready for free food, he didn't actually need to eat in this virtual world. He was more concerned on the 'wishes' part.

"You got it, kiddo. Three wishes per customer while supplies last. That's the limit. Can't expect other people to take care of every little thing."

"Can I make a wish for anything?"

"As long as you don't ask for someone to fall in love with you, more wishes, or wishing someone to get axed off, sure. The sky's the limit. Go nuts."

" _Oh no, who let Arun get his hands on a wishing lamp?"_ Caelum asked. " _If you ask for something stupid, I'm gonna kill you. Screw Ventus. I'm going to do it."_

Vanitas ignored him knowing full well he wouldn't make a careless wish. Back in Meryton, there were tales about people who found mystical items that could grant wishes. What wasn't explained to these people was that their words were twisted enough for the magic to find loopholes, resulting in unintended wishes. A horror film he had watched on TV one late night was centered around their wishes killing them.

For once he was going to pick his words carefully. Three wishes were precious. Whatever Genie said he doubted he could make any wish. He wasn't certain if his powers were bound to the datascape or should restrict his wishes to things he needed at the moment. He didn't want to make any wish that could directly harm others.

"I wish," he said with care, "for those stupid phantoms to stop chasing us. I want them gone."

"You wished it, kiddo, you got it. Badda-bing!" Genie's finger shot out a plume of smoke. They split into smaller ones that flew throughout the city just as there was another bright flash. "There we go. Well? Whaddaya think of your new, totally phantom-free city?"

"Wait." Sora stopped stuffing tiny cakes into his mouth long enough for Vanitas a glimpse of his confusion. "What about Aladdin? Shouldn't you have wished for time to go back to normal?"

"That would have been a smarter idea," said Xion, wiping crumbs from her lips and getting gravy off her face. "If the city was back to normal, we wouldn't have to deal with Jafar."

"We need to deal with him anyway," said Vanitas as he remained neutral to their ideas. "He would have noticed if the time spell was lifted. With that lamp copy he's got he would have enough power to cast it again. And where would I be? Down one wish or frozen in time too."

"Amber eyes' has got it right. Only the one who cast the spell can undo it." Genie nodded along to his explanation. "You can use magic to get all your worldly desires, but trying to outmagic another magic user? It's like trying to make ice cream in the desert heat. It just won't work."

"That makes a lot more sense," Xion said as understanding dawned on her. She backed away from the table to retreat to Vanitas' side. "I think Van's got the right idea. Using magic can only help us so far. So what are you planning on doing with your last two wishes?"

"I know what my second wish will be." He turned back to Genie. "I wish for you to bring us to Jafar."

"You got it, boss. Buckle up, kiddos, 'cause here we go!"

He waved his arms in a grand gesture. More smoke enveloped them and momentarily blinded them. There was an immediate change they felt as the arid wind that had been absent in the time statised Agrabah blew choking air in their direction. Once their vision returned, they were amazed by what they saw.

It was no surprise they had been transported to another location in what appeared to be the middle of the desert. They were awestruck by the giant obsidian tiger's head sticking out of the sand as if its body had been buried. Its jaw was wide open, a demented red glow steady in the back of its throat. Vanitas was as small as a bug in comparison standing before it when he craned his head to marvel at it.

Next to him Xion muttered a small, "Whoa." Sora, on the other hand, glanced around.

"Looks like time is flowing normally here," he said.

"Correctamndo! The spell was just on the city," said Genie, bobbing behind them to float to his heart's content.

"Good. No more running around on borrowed time."

"The genie's methods appears to have worked," said Orion to bring Vanitas back to task. He marked a rouge dot on the mini-map that he didn't necessarily need. He could spotted the man in front of him.

"Hey dumbass!" he yelled to grab the Vizier's attention. It was satisfying to watch him jump and almost trip over his cape hem as he whirled around. He waved his hand in lazy greeting. "How's it going? Whatcha doin' there?"

"How did you get here?" asked Jafar. Then he flicked his gaze to something above their heads. "Of course. So you have obtained the real lamp. And those preposterous weapons you wield are, no doubt, also to blame."

"What did you do to Jasmine?" Sora asked, his worry for the innocent girl in that creep's clutches at the forefront.

"My future queen is resting on the far side of the door."

Vanitas gagged at the possessive title he attached.

"You're such a creep. Respected, my ass. How did people fall for that slimy act?"

"What door?" Sora continued, ignoring his friend's interjection.

"What door indeed?" Jafar's giddy grin was nothing less than shudder inducing. It promised unsavory deeds that involved nothing kind for the princess. "You will never find it, boy."

"You'll tell us once we're done with you," Xion said, thrusting her chest and chin up in false bravado.

"Oh ho, I think not! Sadly, I must go steal Jasmine's heart. And you will not interfere again." He reached into his robes to brandish his copied lamp. "Spirit of the lamp, heed my second wish. Keep these pests from following me!"

As before, the world was filled with blinding light. The next instant they saw Jafar had vanished and the tiger's mouth was closed. Xion ran to it, slipping her fingers to its crevices, and attempted to lift it. However, there was nothing she could do against a pure obsidian obstacle. Genie had followed her as well, poking at the head and carved lips to see if it would help.

"It must have glitched," said Sora, dismayed at her failure.

"Then it goes without saying that it is in the area." Orion took off once more to fly across the desert landscape. An obnoxious beeping rang again his ears. He had almost forgotten it existed. Vanitas followed without question, his shoes fighting against the sand as if he were walking through a swamp. He went around the tiger's head. Orion circled the back of its head. As expected, when he came closer the beeping abruptly stopped.

"Is it one of those glitches you found before?" asked Xion as she came to stand beside him.

"You found it already? How?" They nodded and Sora made a distressed hum in his throat. "It usually takes me twenty minutes to find it by myself."

"Orion usually finds it for me." Vanitas met the AI where he hovered and pointed his Keyblade at the spot. The sand cracked like the shell of an egg to reveal the code beneath. With it revealed he lowered his weapon. "Now that we found it here's the bigger question: who's going in?"

"Can't we all just go in?"

"I would not recommend it," said Orion, landing on top of Vanitas' head. It's one thing to have two users and an NPC to use the same weapon type. To use them in the same unstable environment could have unexpected results. There is also Xion's condition to consider."

He relayed the information to the others. Xion winced.

"He's got a point," she said. "I always get relocated somewhere else. I can't go in it anyway."

"Which means only Vanitas and I can go in," said Sora.

"You could always wish it fixed," Genie offered, cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"I'd rather not have him waste his wish when we can do something about it ourselves. We might need that wish on something more important." Sora studied Vanitas and he did the same. They remained silent for a moment, then he raised a fist. "Rock-Paper-Scissors for it?"

Vanitas raised his hand in kind.

"Best two out of three."

Max burst into laughter in the communication link as they played a quick game.

" _That's something I expected Arun to do."_

" _Boys_ ," Arty huffed as everyone laughed in the background at their antics. He didn't need any visuals to know she was rolling her eyes.

They played two rounds of the game. Luck was not on Vanitas' side when Sora won both in a row. He stuffed his hands in his jacket while his opponent cheered. It wasn't like he wanted to go fix a dumb glitch anyway.

"You're pouting," Xion said, smothering a giggle. It turned into full blown laughter when he leveled a glare at her. "Sorry, it's true. Anyway, I'm glad you're the one staying behind."

"And why's that?"

"I don't feel very comfortable around Sora yet." She dropped her voice to a murmur even though Sora had moved away to enter the glitch. "I don't know why, but he seems familiar. I get a bad feeling about him."

"Do you remember ever meeting him?"

"I don't think so. I've started to remember a lot of things now. I don't know if I've ever met him though."

That certainly didn't sound like good news. While it was common to get such a feeling, it didn't bode well when it was a possible Organization XIII member who said it. They had yet to find out what happened the year everyone forgot about Sora's existence. If something terrible had occurred, they were unsure if it had any repercussions on the real Sora.

As he pondered on the idea, he was interrupted when Xion suddenly clamped a hand on his forearm. Her touch was like a cattle prod as an electrical shock coursed through him, paralyzing his nerves and striking him into a daze.

When he came to he realized he was lying face down on his stomach. Cool stone was pressed against his cheek as someone screamed in his ear.

" _Arun, can you hear me?"_ Arty repeatedly shouted as Max and Goofy called his name as well.

"What-" Vanitas pushed himself up. Something tumbled off his shoulder as he did so and he glanced down. Orion lay curled on the stone, his light dimmed. "Shit, that hurt. Did any of you see that?"

" _No we didn't_ ," said Riku. " _We lost connection on your side for ten minutes. It happened the moment Sora opened the way to the cave's glitch."_

That shouldn't have been possible, he thought as he scooped a half-conscious AI up and placed him in his hood again. He searched his immediate surroundings and found Xion unconscious as well, lying on her side. The answer came to him. It shouldn't have been possible, but around Xion anything could happen.

"Can you find out where we are?" he asked, wandering to the Nobody and shaking her awake. It didn't take much for her to open her eyes and slowly roused.

" _Wah? How did they end up there?_ " Donald asked. His squabbling was loud enough to leave their ears ringing.

" _You guys are inside the Cave of Wonders,_ " said Mickey, failing to hold back his gasp. " _How in the worlds did that happen?"_

Oh, he knew how, Vanitas thought, glancing at Xion who had mostly come back to her senses. Once more her condition had affected her location. However, he didn't think it would also affect him as well.

"Who knows?" he said aloud. "Seeing as how we're here now, we might as well as take advantage of this. Where can we find this 'door' Jafar was talking about?"

" _It looks like it's not that far from where you are."_ Riku brought up the map to show him their whereabouts first, then showed a layer beneath it to a distant level. He slapped a marker for him to follow. " _Although you have somehow entered the cave, be on your guard. There may be traps that Jafar has laid to delay you."_

"I could just wish for the traps to disappear." He opened his open to try and find the magic lamp in his inventory but was interrupted before he could.

" _Doesn't look like you can,"_ said Max. " _Arty's got some windows open to look at your stats and inventory. When we lost connection for a few minutes it looks like you lost the wishing lamp and left it behind with Sora."_

"You're kidding me." He wanted to bury his face in his hands. "Light, can't anything go my way for once?"

" _No, because your luck sucks,_ " Caelum said in a deadpan delivery.

"Shut up."

"What do we do now?" asked Xion. She had remained silent for most of his one-sided conversation, and she bit her lower lip.

"I guess the only thing we can do is to move forward as always," he replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay. I'm glad that, for once, I'm not alone like I usually am after that happens."

"You're probably getting used to this, huh?"

She nodded.

"It's probably why I'm not as scared as I thought I would be." She somehow managed to bring up her smile. In this situation any other person would start to panic. It was admirable that she could manage to stay upbeat. "Alright, let's get to work. Onwards!"

She pointed down the pathway without any barriers or handrails. Now that he had time to examine the area he realized being inside the Cave of Wonders meant being underground. The walls were made of some sort of tan stone. Seeing how smooth they were and the different architectural designs on them suggested they were man made rather than magic. The air was damp and smelt of mildew as if no one had been there for centuries, dimly lit save for the various torches lighting their way. The pathway looked perilous with only one possible way through that only tightrope walkers could confidently walk through.

The most prominent thing that Vanitas didn't trust was the fact that around the path there was an empty space leading to what he believed was a bottomless pit.

Loathe as he was to go that way, he had little choice. If it was the only way, he could pretend he was a cheesy action/adventure film exploring a cursed cavern. It made the experience more bearable than knowing he could fall to his death with one misstep.

They began to traverse the dangerous winding path. Xion stepped closer to his side more than he would have liked, but he would rather have that than watch her plummet to her death because of one slip up. He kept his attention to the floor and watched his steps. This worked as they approached a wide open area where blocks were stacked in a pyramid formation.

One step up on the platform and Heartless popped up again.

Xion shrieked, thrusting her hand out to summon her Keyblade. Sensing her distress, Vanitas nudged her aside, summoned his own weapon, and thrust at the sword wielder. Because it had a scimitar, it parried the attack and forced him to readjust his blade to strike at its exposed side. Over his shoulder, he felt a hot wind approach and watched a fireball hit the creature's chest. It was data by the time he went back into his stance. He was unable to rest as several Heartless came at him at once. He threw himself forward to deal with them, Xion close behind to back him up.

The cramped space they were forced to fight in made it that much harder for Vanitas and Xion. He thought having another sword wielder would have been beneficial if it weren't for the fact that blade could also hit him. Each swing he made had to be pre-planned and made him cautious to avoid hitting her. As a result, he had to pull back the strength of his swings in case he hit Xion. They dodged each other's swings, but on occasion they would get conked in the head.

By the end, they had eliminated the Heartless in the area but not without sustaining damage. Vanitas had to cast _Cura_ to heal themselves.

"That could have ended better," said Xion, shaking out her dominant hand. "Sorry for hitting you. I thought you were out of the way."

"It's cool. You're getting used to fighting with a Keyblade." He couldn't blame her for her sloppy fighting style. She had yet to figure out how to fight with such an unusual weapon. While he did say she was more suited for blades, she needed to learn how to fight with it instead of relying on magic.

"You make it look so easy."

"I've had practice."

"But how much?"

"Too much." He peered ahead to the path they were to take. The underground's dampness made visibility difficult. He could make out the gaps between the platforms left in the dilapidated ruins where the grey blocks bridged them. It didn't set him with as much ease as he believed. "This is going to suck. Whose idea was it to explore this cave again?"

"Wasn't it your's?" asked Xion as they reached the platform's edge.

Vanitas gauged the distance between the edge and the floating block. Retreating a few paces, he mentally steeled his nerves, then sprinted to the edge. He pushed off on the balls of his feet, was airborne for a heartbeat, and touched the sturdy surface. He let out the breath he held.

"It wasn't," he said, moving further away so Xion could copy him. "All I told Genie was to locate Jafar. If I had a choice, I wouldn't have come in here."

His experience in the Underworld had left its mark on him. The underground caverns where spirits and tormented souls dwelt had him believe the enclosed environment would sap his strength. He recalled the deep ache in his bones and the mounting nausea as the dead fed on his life force. It was irrational to believe these ruins would do the same, but every cavern brought it to mind.

Xion dropped the conversation as she jumped the space herself and they continued venturing on. Vanitas led the way and spotted the blocks they could use to cross the expansive gaps with Orion's aid. The number of them increased the further they went forcing him to first pick his way for Xion to follow. It was tedious work and was more so amplified each time Heartless randomly appeared. They had learned their lesson, however. Instead of physical combat, they relied on their magic to dispatch them. Their precarious positions on the cramped platforms made it impossible to battle when, at any given moment, they could slip. The Heartless didn't make things easy for them either as they somehow maneuvered them close to the edge several times. They were able to catch themselves before they could tumbled over.

Through the thin pathways they trekked along, destroying blocks and finding treasure in some of them, and jumped over several of the cavern's traps until they reached a secluded archway into a room. Inside they found the grey blocks had formed a platform leading to nowhere. What was a room like this doing there?

"Be careful. I have a feeling that this is leading to a trap," Vanitas said, peering over the edge of the room. Xion murmured her agreement and stuck close to him. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he hopped onto the grey surface, Xion landing beside him. Both feet planted on it, it abruptly jerked beneath them and descended. His stomach flipped at the motion. They were heading down? How deep did these ruins go?

Several portals swirled into existence. Heartless dropped down to join them on their elevator ride. He should have known this wouldn't be easy. Summoning his Keyblade, he leapt into the fight. Wherever they were headed, it wouldn't be an easy path ahead. He hoped at the end they would come out of this, prepped and ready to deal with the Vizier that was surely waiting at the bottom.

* * *

 **XXX**

* * *

 **So yeah, I don't have an excuse for why this chapter is late other than how I had a couple of difficulties with this. The good news for you guys is that in the months that I've been missing I have a couple of chapters finished and lined up for the next few weeks! I'll be posting a new chapter (of what I have finished) every Sunday. I hope you'll forgive me for my absence!**

 **Please review!**


	15. Clash

Chapter 15

Vanitas ducked low when one of the Heartless-the turban wearing sort that wielded scimitars-swung at his head. Below its swing, he retaliated with an _Aeroga_ at its torso to push it back. He retook his stance and went after it, slashing at its head and legs while it was still staggered. It vanished into a cloud but its partner of the same kind suddenly launched itself at him, rolling in the air with its blade stuck out. He swerved to the side enough to avoid the full brunt of the attack. His HP suffered still and took out a quarter of it. Ignoring it, he parried its next attack and swung the blade away to thrust his sword out to pierce through its gut. It was a critical hit, disposing the Heartless in an instant.

Finishing his opponent, he heard bottles fall behind him, the sound of clinking glass hitting a hard surface. He looked over his shoulder to where Xion had finished off the last Heartless. She stooped down to pick up the fallen items when she suddenly screamed as the blocks next to her fell away. Vanitas whipped his hand out to pull her away.

"Damn it, I knew it! It was a trap," he said, scolding himself for going into such an obvious thing. He didn't have time to continue as three more Heartless appeared the same type as before. The third Heartless he hadn't fought-a winged goblin with goggles on its head-swooped down to swipe at his head, forcing him to release Xion to block it. As it rose into the air, one of the turbaned Heartless came swinging at his exposed side. However, Xion raised her Keyblade and fired off a spell.

In mid-air an orb with two smaller ones circling it hovered above them. The Heartless were pulled towards it, flailing helplessly in the air. Seeing them at their mercy, Vanitas swung his Keyblade in an upward slash that carried him with it, then he switched his grip to where the chain connected to his keychain charm was and swung it around. The blade spun wildly at the creatures and repeatedly hit. As Vanitas gripped his blade normally again and landed, bits of Potion bottles and Munny fell at his feet. They naturally gravitated toward him to be picked up. He wasn't pleased to find that more blocks had fallen away.

"How long is that going to keep doing that?" Xion asked, inching closer to him.

"I sense that we are reaching the end," said Orion, huddling against the nape of his neck. "Jafar's copy of the lamp is close by. A few more meters down and we should reach the signal. Hopefully that is before you lose your footing here."

Vanitas agreed but couldn't help but doubt it when yet another Heartless trio appeared not unlike the last two. Because he wasn't sure how much longer they had to stay on the rapidly dwindling platform, he chose to focus more on magic. He shot an _Aeroga_ at the flying Heartless to knock it out of the air. While he attacked it in its vulnerable position, Xion finally decided to get more physical in the fight as she battled the twin swordsmen Heartless herself. She got low to jab at their weak points in one swift movement. The flying Heartless went down without much of a fight, so when he finished he ran at the nearest one with his _Chain Rave_ technique to help her. This attack alone dealt enough damage for Xion to finish them off.

The platform jerked to a stop. They reached the bottom, or what Vanitas assumed was the end. They were unsure where they should go when his map enlarged.

"There's an alcove off to your left that leads elsewhere," said Orion, tapping his cheek. "I can sense Jafar and Jasmine in that area."

Vanitas caught Xion's eyes and signaled for her to his left. Understanding it, she moved over to the alcove and hopped over the tiny gap, then followed Vanitas through. They came out on the other side and were unsure where they were.

They arrived in a chamber area, the ceiling high overhead where they only saw gaping darkness as if it had swallowed any light. The cavern was sparse, dry soil crumbling beneath his soles as he touched down. Three raised platforms were erected and connected to the circular walls. Jafar stood at the highest one, his back once more to them. Vanitas was unsure what he was doing, but he was more than happy to interrupt him.

"Did you think your stupid lamp would stop us?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. Again, Jafar was startled, twisting around. His face went from slack and twisted into a sneer.

"How could you have eluded all those traps?" Jafar questioned, raising his staff before him as a barrier. He considered them carefully. More so on Vanitas in particular. "It is clear to me now. You are no ordinary street rat. Why not serve me? Whatever you desire, I can make it happen."

The blatant way he threw the offer at him like a man throwing his garbage at a dog had a laugh through his lips. On the other end of the transmission his friends droned their unnerved mutters.

"What makes you think you can give me what I want?" The laughter died long enough to draw breath for his words. His smile was a grinding stone as the cutting words passed through. "What can you do to give me what many sorcerers and magic users have failed to do? You think sugar coating your offer will make me bend over to a weakling?"

As he spoke, the Vizier's jaw locked, his sunken eyes blazing across the room.

"Impudent wretch! Perhaps you need a lesson in what a true ruler can do. That is, if you can tell the true ruler from the others." In the dimness the serpent-headed staff's jeweled eyes sparkled like blood moons, coating its wielder in a similar hue. Suddenly, as if they were struck by triple vision, his image split into clones. They teleported around the battlefield-one of which appeared next to them. Vanitas shoved Xion aside as it sent a fireball straight for her. She tumbled to the ground as it sailed over her and next to Vanitas. He countered with a swipe and felt the jarring hit as it connected but for only a moment. Then it vanished to another part of the room.

In his place a red and black block materialized but it sprouted thin needlepoint legs and an eye in the middle of its front surface. Xion shrieked and she lashed out at the enemy like she was smacking a giant spider, turning her head away, until it disintegrated.

Vanitas turned his focus on the apparitions scattered around the room.

They had fled to the outer roaches of the room spread out as much as possible. He couldn't keep an eye on all of them. He didn't know that they would cast spells on them either until a lightning bolt struck him. It came so fast he was stunned, every limb numbed like his entire nervous system had been rewired. His health had taken a hefty hit as well.

Casting _Cura_ as soon as he could move, he healed himself and went after the closest apparition with the slightest stumble in his step. He thrust his blade at the Jafar clone. It went through his chest and, with a chilling scream, it burst into ash. That wasn't the end of it; it had only relocated closer to where Xion was. She was busy dealing with the real Jafar, sidestepping the fireballs he lugged at her. The clone waved its staff to summon a thunder cloud above her head.

Vanitas cried out a warning as he dashed toward her. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach her in time, so he used an _Aeroga_ , to blow her forward. The wind pushed her a bit too rough as she felt flat on her face. That was nothing compared to the pain she would have endured a second later when the spell reached its completion and struck. He struck just as fast smashing his keyblade in Jafar's face. This version turned but to be the real Jafar, the resounding hit connecting and his grunt. Like the other apparitions, he took a few hits before vanishing in a smoke plume. He had to cover his mouth to filter the ash that was left behind.

"Please don't do that again, "said Xion, getting to her feet.

"Then try to pay more attention," he said.

"I do pay attention!"

As if to prove her wrong, a block spider popped up behind her. With her back wide open he was forced to use a _Heat Dive_ to protect her before it could strike. Once it was destroyed, he quirked an eyebrow to prove his point.

"Don't be a jerk." She shot him a weak glare but didn't repute him. She didn't say anything more and went after the nearest Jafar ghost which happened to be on top of a stone platform. Vanitas went after the closest block spider to cover her.

They spent several minutes battling against the Sorcerer and his doppelgängers. Xion went after them with a ferocity, slamming into the man to check if he was solid and used him as her personal punching bag if he was the real thing. Maybe Vanitas' comment had hit a little too close to home for her? Regardless, he let her take the lead while he dealt with the block spiders that she seemed to be abhorred in dealing with. That was difficult to accomplish when the other two Jafar let loose a barrage of spells to take them out.

Vanitas slashed at the block spider he was currently battling, and was forced to guard against its needle legs. It pushed its entire weight on him like that alone, would defeat him. Sad to say, it was working. It took every ounce of his strength to keep the spider locked in place.

 _What were these things made of ?_ he thought, his biceps trembling under the effort. He thought he was at a decent strength after all that level grinding. That didn't seem to be the case if he was struggling this badly. He tried to come up with a way he could move without getting crushed under a ton of solid block.

 _" Thundaga!"_

The shouted spell came direct above the block spider. Wisps of smoke materialized above it, and a thin thunder bolt struck it. The disappearance of its weight allowed him to breathe easier.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here," said Vanitas to Sora, who finally arrived to join the party.

"I was trying to find you two," Sora said. His appearance was disheveled probably having run a marathon to reach them. Considering they left him at the Cave entrance, he probably did. He scanned the room and landed on Xion fighting Jafar. "I'm not sure what's going on, but it looks like Xion needs help. Explain to us later when we're done, okay?"

"He better! I'm not okay with your disappearing act," said Arty through the communication line.

And that was something he suddenly wasn't looking forward to. Vanitas still agreed because what else was he supposed to do in this situation?

Sora went off to aid Xion going after the other Jafar to keep her from getting overwhelmed. Vanitas, on top of dealing with the spiders decided to do the same. With the three of them working together they stood a chance against the Sorcerer and the bugs. A Jafar apparition was to his left, and it was his target. He activated his command _Chain Rave_ and let it carry him to the sorcerer. The swinging blade chopped down the ghost's HP and he exploded into dust.

Across the room were twin screams-one was cut short while the other turned into hissed curse through clenched teeth. The real Jafar hud fallen to one knee, his robes torn where Sora had cut through them. The room was devoid of the other entities that plagued them,

"Give up, Jafar. Let Jasmine go," said Xion with more force than she had used before. Either it was the adrenaline talking or she was just as fed up with the man.

Jafar screamed, its guttural intensity rumbling deep in his chest.

"You leave me no choice," he said, reaching into his robes. "I was saving my final wish to make Jasmine love me, but now I will simply have to take the princess and city by force." He brandished his lamp. "Spirit of the lamp, I wish for you to make me an all powerful genie!"

A bright flash like a camera's flash bulb went off burning dots into their eyes. Vanitas had to repeatedly blink and rub his eyes to get them to clear. Jafar's high laughter bounced off the walls.

"I told you, boy. You will never find the far side of the door," he taunted. It was difficult to locate where he was. His eyesight healed, and he scanned the room to find no sign of the man. "And now...Such power! Nothing can stop me from shaping the world as I see fit! Savor your final moments, children! Soon, I will crush you!"

"You're not going to get away with this!" Xion shouted, rubbing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets.

Sora finished doing the same. He folded his arms across his chest, a thoughtful frown cresting his face.

"What do we do? If he has Genie's power-"

"How are you sure that his wish came true?" Jafar couldn't truly become a genie with a simple wish, could he? Because if it was possible, Vanitas couldn't understand how a genie could grant something like that but raising the dead wasn't an option.

Smoke drifted out of Sora's back pocket and formed Genie's figure.

"Like I told Sora here, us genies have phenomenal cosmic power!" He grew in size until he filled up the ceiling above them. Xion gave a meek squeak at the intimidating figure he cut. In the next moment he shrunk down to be as tiny as Orion. "But we have an itty bitty space inside the lamp. It's both our prison and our home."

"That's so sad." She placed a hand over her heart, her eyes reflecting the sympathy she held. "Does that mean Jafar doesn't have the same limits as you?"

" _Don't panic,"_ Mickey said. The three perked at his voice. " _Jafar's closer than you think."_

"Then where's this door?" Vanitas asked, searching the room again on both his map and what was before him.

" _Think about it. What do we know about hidden doors?"_

" _Oh Riku told me about this!"_ Arty exclaimed. _"He's inside the Keyhole! He told me that he saw Jafar went into it to face against everyone."_

" _You got it,"_ Goofy praised. " _Now you fellas go in and find it."_

" _And hurry up!"_ Donald added, impatience making his vowels drown in his warbles.

"Leave it to us!" Sora thumped a fist on his chest. Xion copied him, but she winced as her enthusiasm caused her HP to dip down a point.

"If we must not waste time, then allow me to inform you where the Keyhole is." Orion took to the air, zooming across the room as his wings left a trail of golden glitter and stopped by a stack of blocks on a platform to their left.

Vanitas didn't need to be told anything else. He activated a _Strike Raid_ , throwing his Keyblade in his direction. It smashed through the blocks like it was an easy carnival game, revealing the Keyhole outline behind it.

"Now it's time to face Jafar," said Sora, running over to inspect the glitch. Xion, on the other hand, didn't do anything.

"What's wrong?" Vanitas asked. She would be ecstatic about facing off against adversaries. A flash of fear spread across her face and disappeared behind a brittle smile.

"I know I'm being silly, but I'm scared. What if something happens again when the glitch opens? I'm going to be alone again."

"It won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because even if we get separated, I'll always come looking for you." He bumped his shoulder again her's. "We're a team. I'm not leaving you behind. I'm too under leveled to handle the Heartless on my own."

She laughed, broken like tinkling glass.

"You're awful. Thanks."

He waved away her appreciation as warmth rushed through his chest. In the short time he had known her the girl had grown on him. She had put her trust in him and he found that he didn't want to betray it. He wasn't going to leave her alone.

They watched Sora lift his Keyblade and point it at the exposed hole. Genie hovered over his shoulder intrigued by the process. It reacted with a bright flash like a flashbulb. Xion grabbed his hand, gripping it as her lifeline. Vanitas was going to soothe her fears, but suddenly everything was thrown off-kilter.

The floor felt as if it had been dropped out beneath him, coming up sideways. He threw out his arms to catch himself. His hands landed on the cool stone, the change in temperature scattering goosebumps across his body.

He raised his head and was baffled that he was still in the cavern. However, there was no one in sight. His presence was all that remained.

"Orion, can you scan for Sora or Xion?" he asked as he stood, his body tensed for any sudden movement.

"I cannot find them." His frustration bled into his tiny body as he punched Vanitas' shoulder blade. It was nothing more than a tiny prick that he hardly feel. "It is as if we are in a quarantined here against our will. What in the worlds is going on here?"

"I must be like this for a reason." He searched the area again for Xion despite knowing he wouldn't find her. It was strange, he though. She would always appear inside the main glitch albeit she was relocated elsewhere.

As he swept his eyes to search the center, ones and zeroes clustered together in a cloud, spacing out to form appendages like arms and legs. They created lines and curves to what should have been human, yet the skin color was nowhere near the average shade. The final thing to form was its head, creating something like a helmet.

The creature touched the ground and slid its right foot back. The stance triggered a sense of deja vu as he thought it resembled how Sora shifted into his own fighting stance. It was raring for a fight.

"Be careful," said Orion, his high-pitch hitting ranges it shouldn't have. "Your enemy has strength level above your own. Should any of its attacks make contact, you won't last for long."

"How high are we talking?" asked Vanitas, slipping his foot as well to prepare for battle. Orion pulled up another chart that compared his stats to the ones his opponent had. The difference brought back the stress he was trying to push down. "Shit, are you kidding me? Why does this happen?"

As if to make their difference apparent, it raised its hand above its head, its form shimmering gold. On its shoulders golden armor pads appeared while it seemed like four more arms sprouted out its sides and back. All of them brandished blades ready to slice into his coding.

How was he supposed to fight a thing like that?

The humanoid didn't waste time as it flew at Vanitas. With its front blades it slashed down at him diagonally one after the other. It left him no room to flee, forcing him to raise his Keyblade to block at the slightest motion. The blades clashed against his sword's metal neck twice, then raised all four of its blades again over its head down at him only to connect with the metal. The attack's exertion left a moment afterwards for him to jump back.

He didn't expect it to follow after him with its two front blades again. Dodging the blades as he stepped sideways, he saw it use its third in a sweeping upward slash that he managed to avoid by tripping over his own feet before bringing it back down in one smooth motion. As it whipped its blades around in a whirlwind of slashes, Vanitas fired off an _Aeroga_ in its direction. The harsh wind sliced into its arm bringing down about an eighth of first HP bar. It wasn't enough to stop its attack movements and he was forced to keep away until it finished.

The second its pointed feet touched the dirt it was Vanitas' turn to attack. He got in close, swiping and slashing without abandon. He did several regular attack combos and ended with a _Heat Dive,_ jumping into the air and thrust his flame-enveloped blade down on its head. Each attack stunned the humanoid so it couldn't counter. Through his efforts, he manage to bring down its HP by half. As he revved himself up for another combination attack, he saw that it shook off its stunned state. Then, it slid into a braced stance and, suddenly, air was sucked around it.

Vanitas lost his footing as he was pulled in. The suction was too strong for him to escape. He nearly collided with the humanoid, whose form radiated a powerful sheen for what felt like four heart pounding moments. He gained his footing when it rushed at him with an overhead slash so fast its blade was a silver blur and smashed into his shoulder. It felt like it would have dislocated it in the real world, but the sharp pain blurred his vision.

Blinded by it, alarms piercing his eardrums, he ran to the nearest wall out of its attack range as it tried to attack him once more. At a safe distance he frantically pulled out a Potion to heal his almost completely drained health to silence the alarms.

 _Holy shit, that was close,_ he thought, shuddering at what a close call that was. Vanitas couldn't breathe as the humanoid came in close once again. It used the same attack patterns that it had started the fight with. Not knowing what to do, he was forced to dodge and block.

His thoughts whirled as fast as the humanoid's blades in his attempt to come up with a plan. He blocked as many of the attacks as he could, knowing he was too slow to try dodging all of it. Each hit against his blade was jarring as it rattled him enough for him to feel through the coding. He had unlimited stamina, but he didn't know how much longer he could take those attacks. After it plunged its blades down at him, creating a shockwave that was supposed to send him off kilter, it twisted its front blades to strike him again. He glanced to the lower left of his eyesight where the command menu was and quickly scrolled it to the _Chain Rave._ In a desperate bid he activated it.

The humanoid struck when he moved his grip his Keyblade's keychain and swung it wildly, the momentum propelling him forward. To his astonishment the giant blades bounced off his whirling one and left it wide open for a few seconds. The _Chain Rave_ continued on to slice into it, reducing its first HP bar to nothing and moved onto the second. As great as the command was, he was upset it couldn't be spammed-not that it mattered in the end.

It wasn't stunned for long. It braced itself to suck him in with its supposed wind magic, but Vanitas was far enough out of its range to run off. Then, it canceled its magic to come charging at him, which he dodged as well by rolling to the side. Once on his feet, he saw its back was left wide open.

He wasted little time. He ran at it, activating _Heat Dive_ to plunge his blade wrapped in fire magic at its head and followed it up with a few regular slashes at its form. Before it could try to counterattack, he fled back to safety.

This new insight helped Vanitas come up with a rudimentary plan of attack. He decided to pay attention to its attack pattern and go in whenever it left itself open. Watching it, blocking when necessary, he noted that it always halted at the end of a series of sword strikes as if to take a moment to breathe. He chose this time to go in and attack, never doing more than two or three slashes and thrusts, fleeing at the end. When he couldn't find an opening he used an _Aeroga_ hoping that the wind damage was enough to help him.

Somehow, this simple strategy chipped away at its second health bar until nothing but a sliver was left of it.

He took the chance to close in to use a _Chain Rave_ hoping it would do significant damage. However, just as he scrolled through his commands to use it, the humanoid's blade was varnished with light making it gleam. Judging by the glow, Vanitas knew whatever it had up its sleeve wouldn't be good. He abandoned his initial plan of attack to bring up his Keyblade to guard in time for it to deliver a devastating attack. It let loose its blades in a flurry going so fast he could only hear the steel swing through the air. He couldn't even see its body as it twisted and flipped around pulling gymnastic moves he would have never been able to pull in the real world. Vanitas' heart was pounding as it kept pushing against his guard, yet it never did. Gods, how was it so strong? He couldn't put down his guard at all in fear it would kill him.

Finally, after what had to be the scariest moments in a fight he had experienced thus far, the humanoid winded down its barrage and slowed its movements. Vanitas wasn't sure what was going to happen next. He threw caution out to go in for a few quick hits, then run. He succeeded in getting in those hits but didn't get the chance to do more as it plunged its blade straight into the dirt, energy pulsating from the blade. Its shockwave tore apart his stance and he was left open.

Mercilessly, it took advantage of the fact and thrust its blade into his torso, slicing it sideways to draw violent red lines on his skin. The alarms in his head screamed its warning at him. The humanoid used its free front blade to try and do him in, but he finally used the _Chain Rave_ like he should have at the start. Swinging his Keyblade around, the front blade bounced against it and struck the creature as well, stunning it. He took the chance to flee towards one of the pedestals, hid behind it, and scrolled on his Command menu like a madman for his single _Cura_ spell.

"You need to be more careful. Anything more than three hits and you will be ejected from the system," Orion advised.

"You got any other 'useful' advice I need other than what I already know?" Vanitas snapped. Of course he had to be careful! How many times had he been near death in this fight alone? He knew those weapons it used were lethal and could end him in a few seconds flat.

"You are also out of Potions." He scrolled the Command menu to reveal that he was, indeed, out of healing items. All he had left was his _Cura._ How did that happen? "You forgot to replace your Potions in here before you entered the lamp chamber. Again, I think you should be careful."

He wanted to bury his head in his hands. Gods, he was in serious danger. While confident in his ability to survive, he didn't like the implication that the odds were stacked against him. This humanoid was no Heartless, he was certain. Its movements were too smooth and calculated to be those instinctual creatures. What exactly was it? Glancing at his opponent's HP, he also knew he needed to end this fight as quickly as possible. It was finally down to its last bar, and he would rather try to finish this instead of cowering behind a pedestal.

Like all other foes he had faced, this one was going down.

Steeling his nerves, he came out of hiding only to be face-to-face with the humanoid. He had to swiftly bring up his guard as its two front swords came down at him, blocking everything it threw at him. As it hopped to plunge its weapon into the ground, he did as well to avoid the inevitable shockwave. The floor steady again, his feet touched the flat surface and pointed his Keyblade to shoot an _Aeroga_ at it. However, as the wind sliced into its arms its blades glowed with the same radiance as it did before.

His heart jumped in his throat. He had no time to even consider guarding, and he chose to hop backwards, the steel cutting the air in front of him. With the next few swings it made the swords connected with his arm, his body freezing at the shock. There was nothing else he could do to fend off the rest of its assault. The whirring shriek that pulsed high and low was in his ears along with Orion's cry of his name. All he could do was try to evade its pursuit, reaching for the _Cura_ command.

The humanoid wouldn't give him the chance to as it continued its onslaught, using everything in its arsenal to bring him to the brink of defeat. Vanitas was pushed to his limits, his focus divided between escaping its clutches and guarding. There was no time for him to consider scrolling for the healing command he needed when every second was precious to his survival. He was truly on his last legs if he couldn't heal in the immediate future.

As time wore on, the pulsating siren matched the headache throbbing behind his eyes. Irritation built alongside it and made his jaw lock.

 _Ah forget it!_ Vanitas thought, rolling sideways where his back hit the nearest wall. He glared at the humanoid imagining it fading into darkness. He had enough of this! So what if he had low health? If he was going to die here, he was going to go down using everything he had as well. As it assumed its stance to pull him in, he slid into his own to steady himself.

As the wind whipped around him to pull everything towards the humanoid, he stabbed his Keyblade in the dirt to keep him in place. The moment he felt the air settle it flew across the distance, blades swinging high and low. He blocked against it until it finished. Once it did, he used _Aeroga_. The air blast was enough to stun it, and he went all in.

Vanitas leapt into the air, slashing down and swinging his Keyblade four times, then activated _Chain Rave_. His blade pounded against its form, steel scraping against its armor and it satisfied a primal part of him that it suffered. He slid his hand back into the handguard when the command finished, dropping back down to put his feet on solid ground. The humanoid staggered back to try and gather itself, and it was at this time he knew this needed to end. It would most likely enhance its swords again after a beating like that. He couldn't afford to have to go through that again.

He threw caution aside and swung his Keyblade at it, anxious to defeat it. Each swing was like that of a drunken man who didn't know how to hold a sword properly. If Master Xehanort or Leon, for that matter, saw him fight like this right now, they would have him do drills until he couldn't move. It didn't matter as long as each hit chipped at its deteriorating HP down to a sliver.

As the humanoid drew light into its blades again, Vanitas pulled out his last Command that wasn't on cooling down. He leapt high, flames wrapping around him, and dove down. His Keyblade drove itself into the humanoid's shoulder, obliterating its last bit of HP.

Dealing the final blow, the creature staggered back. Its fancy additions vanished in data bits, floating into nonexistence. Placing its hands on its chest, it swayed and could no longer support its weight. It fell to one knee and, as the cave surrounding them seemed to waver, it also disappeared into a data cloud.

The background faded. With no ground to support them a teleportation circle appeared beneath Vanitas' feet and transported his data elsewhere. It lasted one blink of an eye and deposited him on cool sand.

" _There we go,"_ said Arty, her transmission link buzzing to life. " _Are you two alright? We couldn't get through to you."_

" _What happened to you? Your levels jumped up by, like, four,"_ said Max, astonished.

"I'm guessing none of you saw that." The sirens blaring in his head was getting on his nerves. He used _Cura_ to revitalize himself.

"Saw what?" Sora's voice alerted him to his presence. Vanitas looked around. It looked like he had been dropped back to the entrance outside the Cave of Wonders. His doppelganger jogged to where he was, glancing to Vanitas' left. He did the same and was caught off guard when he saw Xion was lying next to him, her unconscious form curled. Had she been there this whole time? It would explain why she hadn't remained in the chamber with him. "What happened to you two? You disappeared after I opened the glitch."

"This tends to happen," he said. "Can you use a spell or Potion to heal her? I used up what I had left."

He did so, using a Hi-Potion to bring Xion's suspiciously critical HP bar back to full. She opened her eyes, gasping sharply.

"Oh no, did it happen again?" she asked, slowly sitting up. Owlishly blinked, she didn't look all that surprised about where they were.

"Yeah it did," Vanitas said, standing and helping her up. "We can catch up on what you missed later." He turned his eyes to Sora. "Why were you in such a hurry?"

"Oh right! I ran into Pete again. He was the one behind the lamp that Jafar had. He disappeared again, but Arty teleported me to where he's supposed to be."

"Of course he ran away. He's nothing but a coward."

"Who're you callin' a coward?"

The intruder to their conversation had them whirling on their feet. Pete came out of the shadows of the tiger's head, a sinister grin made that way due to the red hue behind him.

"I'm calling you a coward. What are you doing here?" asked Vanitas. Every time he ran into him he never failed to make disgust curl unpleasantly in his belly. There was nothing redeeming about the guy.

"I'm about to tell ya. And here's a surprise for ya," said Pete, smug and unnaturally gleeful. "All right, come on out and show'em who's boss, Maleficent."

" _What did he say?"_ Caelum asked, demanding as it was frantic.

They received their answer when another slimmer, taller figure melted out into the light. Vanitas' fist clenched seeing Maleficent alive before him. Her lips pulled into a thin smile that held no warmth to them.

While he stewed in his anger, Sora and Xion didn't know how to react.

"Who are you?" asked Sora, side glancing at Vanitas' furious look.

"An amusing jest, boy," said Maleficent, stroking the orb on her staff, "but one I will abide. If you desire a reminder of my power, then I shall demonstrate."

She raised her staff. Then, an invisible force like a wrecking ball slammed into them, knocking them flat on their backs. The nerve sensors dulled the hit for him to make the pain tolerable, yet his companions shouted, pitches cracking and sanding their throats. Because of it, he was quick to recover, getting back up just as she drew Sora's Keyblade toward her with her magic.

"Isn't this odd?" She peered closer in her examination. "Ah, I see."

To their horror she made a slashing motion with her staff. Right before their eyes, the Keyblade trembled and cracked and finally shattered under pressure.

"So we see, 'twas but a lie," she said, laughing delightfully as the pieces fell around her. "And now that it's gone, this entire world shall be mine to rule."

"Not on our watch," said Xion, scrambling to her feet. She summoned her blade and stepped forward, pointing the tip at the two. "I don't know who you two are, but I'm not going to let you do whatever you want. You've no right to say this world your's."

"From your cloak, I presume you are one of those Nobodies? And you…." Maleficent turned to Vanitas, making as show of looking up and down his borrowed appearance. "You bear resemblance to Sora, yet you remain unfamiliar. Tell me, are you one of the denizens of this realm?"

Vanitas was momentarily speechless, baffled. How didn't she know who he was? He hated her for causing his dearest friends such heartache. Surely, she would have recognized him. However, he had never met her in his own body.

"I'm not entirely from here. We've met in the real world where you decided to betray Arty's trust to resurrect me," he said, raising his chin defiantly. "I used to go by Arun, but these days it's Vanitas. Ring any bells for you?"

Maleficent's lips curled, her shoulders trembling, until she burst into a cackling laugh known for those with her title. Even Pete appeared disturbed by it, taking a step away from her.

"How interesting. You steal other faces while believing you are of light. How long do you believe you will keep up that facade?"

"Longer than you think you have power over the Heartless." Her laughed died at the slight. Glad to know that he still had the touch to push villain's buttons. "Sorry, too soon? You get over losing control of the Heartless a few weeks ago yet?"

He knew he had crossed a line when Maleficent concealed them, there were pitch black pools that surrounded them. They rose into the third dimension becoming the Shadows they knew all too well. They twitched as they inched closer to tighten the circle.

"Yes, my loyal minions. Drag all that you see into deepest darkness!"

Her cackle pervaded the air as the creatures did her bidding. They pounced, claws ready to tear through their flesh, but Vanitas and his friends weren't idle. At the slightest movement, he had swiped his blade wide to keep them back. Given his newly acquired strength, he had decimated half their health. Xion did some decent damage as well as she hit them with a sweep of her blade and thrust the tip to skewer one. They kept them at bay, attacking them when they drew closer and remained by Sora's side.

They managed to completely destroy them when two shining circles formed beside them, then raised themselves where two silhouettes were filled out. Riku and King Mickey assessed the situation, spotting them.

"You okay?" asked Riku, stepping in front of Sora, who nodded.

"What are you doing here in the Datascape?" Mickey asked. He got straight to the point as he readied his Keyblade for whatever trick she had at hand.

"Datascape?" Maleficent said it slowly as if tasting the word and not finding it satisfactory. She scoffed. "Spare me your dull details."

"But since you're wonderin', it was all my idea, ya bozo," said Pete, guffawing at their perplexed expressions. "We caught wind right away you was up to somethin', see. So I decided to pay ya a little visit on Maleficent's orders and what do I find? You messin' around with that journal and that computer. I was gonna report back when the computer made all that hubbab. That's how your's truly got sucked into that light show.

"I woke up all by my lonesome in the weirdest place. So I called Maleficent seein' all those pictures floatin' about hopin' it'd help us take over the worlds. And there ya have it! We's been diggin' around in here ever since. Turns out this place connects right to that there castle o' your's." He suddenly laughed. "Or at least it did before I took control of the only way out."

"Bastard! You're the one who trapped my friend here?" Of all the people who could have been behind this mess, it had to be Pete. Vanitas wasn't sure if he should be mortified or insulted such a bungling idiot got the upper hand on them.

"Rest assured, both worlds shall be mine before long," said Maleficent as if she already owned them. "Once I have immersed this one in darkness, I can send my Heartless hoarde back to your castle." She raised both her arm to the sky in preparation to deliver a grand speech. "The long slumber has ended, and a new era has begun. One where all worlds belong to me. But my worlds must be free of light and your's shine far too brightly. This time it is you who will sleep."

"Wrong," said Riku. In defiance he summoned a dark blade that resembled a bat wing more than his original Keyblade did and raised it. Hooded aqua eyes were just as sharp. "This is one world I won't let you touch!"

" _Riku, don't-"_ Arty screamed as he dashed at the two, leaping into an attack. However, Maleficent waved her staff and a green hue enveloped him, halting him in his tracks. " _No...No, please not again."_

"Now you boy, you belong to the darkness, not the light." Smoky tendrils formed in portal. They didn't need planning on doing as her smile became apparent. "I shall take this one with me. I am sure he will prove useful."

On the other side of the transmission Vanitas heard Arty chant denials, each more garbled and cracked than the last. She was on the precipice of losing herself to sheer panic watching someone dear being taken. He couldn't stand the hitch in her throat.

He threw his Keyblade, activating his _Fire Raid_ attack in an attempt to knock the staff out of her hand. But Maleficent had already entered the portal along with Riku vanishing within. The portal melted as well leaving them no chance of following them.

"Check and mate." Pete raised his hand in mock salute "So long, suckers."

Beneath his feet, a coded circle appeared and grabbed hold of his form to digitize it, sending him to unknown location.

Vanitas ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Dread curled unpleasantly in his stomach like spoiled milk. What was she planning on doing with Riku? He was Jiminy's journal and an integral part in everyone's safety. If something happened to him, would the rest of the journal be affected as well? More than that, Riku himself meant something to them as well, he thought, glancing at a crestfallen Sora who looked ready to burst into tears. Mickey and Xion stood beside him awkwardly unsure of what to do.

"We should go back to the Library," said Vanitas. Considering the emotional shock, it was up to him to remain level headed. "We need to track down where they took Riku and go from there."

They nodded, and he asked Arty, who was suspiciously silent to open a passage back to the castle. When it did they marched inside one-by-one. When he entered Arty's pleas for Riku echoed through Vanitas' mind. He may not have known him that long, but he knew how close they were. The real Riku had cared for her when neither Vanitas or Caelum could. For that he was grateful that he had been there for her. He was going to do everything in his power to get him back.


	16. Shadows of Former Selves

Chapter 16

"This is terrible," said Jiminy as they stepped out of the portal and into the Library. They walked into the middle of a conversation where Donald was pacing the room, muttering angrily, while Jiminy was slumped against a pen holder with his head in his hands. Arty was huddled in a corner with her laptop on the ground, her back to them. Everyone else was huddled at the desktop.

"Say, fellas," Goofy said, tapping his chin, "hasn't Riku got all the journal data inside him? If Maleficent casts him into darkness-"

"Then the whole Datascape will go kaplooie," Donald finished, scuffing his webbed foot on the marble floor.

"How many worlds still have bugs left?" asked Mickey.

"Just the one," said Arty, coughing when her voice got raspy. Vanitas was about to go to her, but then she lifted her laptop and stood, turning to them. Her pallor was pale except for the blushed blotches on her cheeks. "You guys aren't going to believe what's left. Which is ironic because everything seems to go down there."

She went to the computer and tapped a few keystrokes on the keyboard. On the screen a Gothic-style ruined castle appeared and was faintly recognizable. It must have meant something because Donald and Goofy had visceral reactions, cringing at the sight.

"This was Hollow Bastion when it was still under Maleficent's control," she said to the rest of the room. "It's also the last bugged world and, no doubt, where the witch took Riku. Even if we went after them, who knows if he'll be in any condition to get us home."

"We were so close," said Jiminy, bemoaning their luck.

"That was your way home, huh." Sora heaved a forlorn sigh like all the weight over what happened was crushing him. "Guys, I'm so sorry. I should've done something to stop her."

"It's not your fault," Max said. He walked around the desk to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have known that Maleficent would done that. She tends to catch us off guard."

"Don't go admitting that." Vanitas scowled in his direction. Max winced and gave a nervous laugh, taking his hand off to scratch his cheek.

"Besides, there's something we can still do. It's not too late to save Riku, right?" Xion met their eyes to try and validate her claim.

Mickey was the one to agree with her.

"Vanitas, Xion, and I can handle this. We'll find another way to fix the bugs and rescue Riku too."

"Let me help," Sora said avidly. However, he was shot down as Arty interrupted him.

"No you won't. No offense, but without your Keyblade there's not much you can do to help."

"Why not?"

"Sora, we should have told you this, but your Keyblade was something we gave you from the outside," Caelum admitted. He rubbed a lock of his hair between his fingers. "Once it was destroyed, it stayed gone. If we weren't in the Datascape, we could have given it back but we can't."

"What about Prof. Von Drake? Can't he rewrite it back in?" asked Vanitas.

"We'd need access to the journal to get that data," Arty explained. She gestured to her laptop. "We can't even get the data that I have since my laptop's with me. There's nothing we can do."

"But there has to be something I can do! I want to-" Sora began. But Mickey held up a hand to silence him.

"I know. But you've already done a lot for us. It's time for me to see what I can do."

"We'll do our best for you," Xion said, bouncing on her heels with pent up energy. She and Mickey stepped towards the Library door.

"Wait a second," Vanitas called, and they halted in their tracks. "Mickey, you go on ahead. Xion and I'll catch up with you once we get a map of the place."

"How are you planning to get it?" she asked, confused.

"Arty might have one." He turned to her, head lowered and unable to meet her eyes knowing this was a delicate subject. "I know we haven't talked much about what happened in Hollow Bastion, but do you have a map of the place? I don't want us to go in blind."

She didn't answer and instead went to pick up her laptop off the ground.

"I...do have one," she said tightly. "I had to make one myself so I could understand the traps laid around the place." She placed it on the desk to reconnect it to the main computer. "I'll upload it so Orion can guide you. I"m not sure how it will help if it turns out the layout is different."

"I still appreciate it." He hated having to bring up a difficult memory. He needed to ask. She knew the layout of the castle better than the rest of them.

She smiled at him, then started her work. Orion flew over to the scanner to allow her to upload the information. Meanwhile, Mickey also left through the doors to scout ahead. For all they knew the layout would be different. Off in the corner Sora was sat on the floor, slumped in his desolation, and Xion was beside him trying to cheer him up. Goofy and Donald were discussing whatever back up plans they needed in case things went south. As Arty worked with Orion, Caelum and Max huddled with Vanitas as the former told Vanitas about how many of the entries she had decrypted so far. The three of them decided to read through them.

"Whoever wrote those entries must not have liked writing long ones," Max said, reading over Vanitas' shoulder as he scrolled down the menu. "These last few entries are barely more than a paragraph. You can barely tell he lives an exciting life the way he described his days."

"The whole point of a diary is to rant about what happened during their day." Vanitas read as quickly as he could. Like he said, the entries were short and made it possible to read them. "It looks like this Organization member spent his time after missions eating ice cream and hanging out with Axel and Xion. They're mentioned several times in these pages."

"She was friends with Axel and this guy?"

"From the looks of it, they were close," said Caelum. He had read the entries earlier, he had told him while Arty was decrypting them. "I'm not surprised since the writer and Xion became members around the same time. But to also be close to Axel? That's what I don't understand."

"Why is that confusing?" Max questioned as Vanitas nodded in agreement.

"I don't remember if I ever told you about what Demyx said when I first saw me and thought I was Sora's Nobody. Demyx said him and Axel hung out all the time. If that's the truth and going by the diary entries, we can tell that the diary's owner is Roxas."

"No way, really?"

"Exactly," Caelum agreed, nodding. "Which begs the question: why haven't we heard about anything about Xion as well? They hung out all the time and yet we haven't heard anything about her from other people. Except for these entries, it's like she never existed."

His revelation left them stunned. Vanitas was able to piece together that Roxas was, indeed, the diary's owner based on how much Axel worried about him. In the journal's Twilight Town the Nobody had gone to search for his missing friend. He didn't know if any of the other Organization members here more than colleagues like Roxas and Axel, so the one he was searching for must have been Sora's Nobody.

If they were such good friends, why wasn't Xion mentioned at all?

A door slammed behind him, breaking his line of thoughts. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Xion's black cloak disappear through the open door and the familiar light that came when a digital portal was used. He looked around and couldn't see either Xion or Sora anywhere.

"Did they just-" Arty stopped, swiveling her head to the door. In haste she moved over to the computer. Vanitas hurried to her side along with Caelum and Max as a window popped up on the monitor. In it were Sora and Xion appearing in a ruined area surrounded by waterfalls that rose up rather than down. "What do they think they're doing? They shouldn't have gone off on their own."

"Looks like they got tired of waiting around. Can't say I blame them," said Max, shrugging.

"I can. This is my problem with Sora in all his incarnations." Arty picked up Orion and coaxed him to return to Vanitas. She packed up her laptop, slipping it inside her satchel, and ran to the door.

"Where are you going?" Donald and Goofy, who had put Jiminy on his shoulder, dogged his footsteps. "The king told us to wait here."

"Fat chance I'll listen to him when Riku's in danger. You going to wait here while Sora's off by himself again?"

"Well we ain't gonna leave Sora," Goofy said with no room for argument. "Even if it's a data version of him, he'll always be our friend. We'll come runnin' when he needs us."

Donald nodded.

"The king'll understand if we left."

"If Dad, Donald, and Jiminy are going, so are we," Max declared, puffing out his chest. "Sorry Arun. I know you want us to stay behind, but I can't stand by anymore."

"That's fine by me. We need all the help we can get." While he had reservations about putting his friends in danger, he knew this was for the best. The circumstances had changed and they needed everyone's help if they wanted to defeat Maleficent.

"Good. We would have left even without your permission since Arty would do whatever she wanted," Caelum said nonchalantly. He summoned his staff to his hand as he made his way to Arty. He and Max did the same.

"Do you think it wise to let Lady Arty come along?" Orion asked. If he listened closely, he could make out the slow sway of his wings as they fluttered in his concern. "I thought your conversation earlier suggested you did not want her in danger. Should she come along, there is a remarkable chance she will get hurt."

"There's one thing you should know about her by now, and that's how stubborn she can get when she puts her mind on something." She was the most remarkable girl he had ever met, and he admired that about her.

Exiting the library, a portal to their next destination awaited them. Arty waited until they were all out in the hallway. When they were she strolled right in as if she were a captain leading her troops to battle.

"I think I can see what you mean."

Vanitas nodded, his heart accelerating against his will. Her passionate moments were a sight he always treasured. He filed the image away in his mind and followed everyone into the next world.

* * *

xxx

* * *

The castle of Hollow Bastion was a place Vanitas couldn't say he was all too familiar with. He wasn't part of the reconstruction branch of the Radiant Garden Restoration committee and chose to help with patrols in town. Whenever he did go near the building it was to follow Arty to Ansem the Wise's office and the adjacent computer room. The structure itself was a mess-an ugly mishmash of gears and equipment that marrow how the castle used to look in its original Radiant Garden state.

Looking upon the castle at one of the main gates, he wasn't certain which version of the post-Heartless castle he preferred.

The portal had deposited them outside the western entryway, the wrought iron gates wide open for their intrusion. The section the entryway was built on was suspended over a cliff. Over the stone railings was a sea of clouds, wisps curling around the cliff walls. It left little to no imagination to know what would happen to them if they fell.

"I thought the castle was worse before," Max said, muzzle wrinkled.

"It's gone through a makeover, that's for sure," Caelum replied, shifting his weight to expel some nervous energy.

As they marveled over the state it was in, Arty, Donald, and Goofy were discussing Sora and Xion's possible location.

"Do ya think they're already inside?" Goofy suggested, tilting his head toward the castle doors. They were massive and were made, no doubt like all the other entrances the place had, with the densest metal to protect against invaders. No human could be strong enough to open them alone.

"That doesn't sound right. When we first came to Hollow Bastion Sora told me he had to activate switches to open the castle doors," Jiminy said where he was standing on Goofy's shoulder, scratching his head.

"There's a weird mechanism on these castle gates to prevent intruders from getting in." Arty tapped her lower lip, eyes skyward. "If the castle doors aren't open, then Sora and Xion are definitely in the underground waterways that run beneath the structure. They could have already entered if they found the other passages." Nodding to herself, she folded her arms. "Our best course of action is to split up. We'll have better chances running into them should Xion's 'problem' take them elsewhere in the castle."

"Me, Goofy, and Jiminy will go to the waterways," said Donald, pointing to a seperate path to their right. "We went there once before when we came back to help the Princesses of Heart."

"Then the rest of us will find another way into the castle. I'm pretty sure there's one here somewhere."

They split up into their designated groups. Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy headed off to the side path as Arty led the rest of them to a floating platform over the bottomless pit. She instructed Caelum to use a _Gravity_ spell to bring it down for them to board. He did so, a heavy pressure focusing on that particular spot. Once it was within reach, they climbed on and, using a _Zero Gravity_ spell, they were airborne. Then they were level to the conveniently placed block platform for them to cross over to a stairway.

Luck wasn't entirely on their side, because Heartless appeared when they jumped on it. Vanitas pushed forward firing a _Thundara_ to stun them. The variety here were more of the same common types he had run across thus far like the Soldiers and Large Bodies, but there was a giant winged beast, its horns, wings, and beak as sharp as its talons, and a floating one with a pointed wide-brimmed hat and staff. His spell stunned them all except the last. Unflinching, it waved around its weapon. A sudden chill blasted behind him and Caelum hissed.

Vanitas didn't look. As much as he wanted to check on him, they had Heartless to deal with. He slashed at the other stunned creatures and ended his attacks with a _Firaga Burst_ , a swift ball of fire he hurled hoping it would send them reeling. The devastating power eliminated the Soldiers and dealt great damage to the Large Body and the bird creature. After he took a moment to let his commands cool down, a shield spun towards the Large Body, bouncing on its rotund stomach. Max caught the weapon and slid behind it to slice at its open back, the hit disintegrating it.

To his left the bird creature was brought out of the sky by a great pressure. Seizing the opportunity, he swiped his Keyblade's teeth to rake it across its side, then thrust the tip into its wing. That was enough to defeat it.

Arty's shriek kept him from celebrating early.

"Why won't you stay still!" Across the platform, she was swinging her rapier at the magical Heartless. Her blade cut through air where the creature had previously remained. It was there one moment, then reappeared closer to where Caelum was. As it reappeared, he formed an ice tip at the end of his staff. Then he lunged at it, the tip slashing through its side. The hit stunned it. Max and Vanitas dashed over to do away with it, but a volley of arrows came raining down on it. It chipped at the HP, decimating it. Arty grumbled, lowering her bow. "I had forgotten how annoying those Wizards are. Magic doesn't work against them and they teleport too much."

"I don't know how you're able to deal with Heartless like that easily," said Max, holstering his shield.

"I've had to deal with them before." She readjusted her satchel strap and crossed the platform to where the blocks formed a path to hop across to where the castle curved. The rest followed suit.

The group followed Arty through the castle as she walked into the building. The castle must have once been a grand spacious place that allowed visitors to easily pass through. However, like the rest of the Datascape's worlds, the blocks choked the foot traffic with their peculiar arrangements-pyramids, stairways and even walls-to hinder their progress. In the smaller connecting corridors they even prevented them from safely crossing to the other doorway without damage when Heartless were thrown into the equation.

Through trial and error, they fought the digitized creatures. While the rest of his friends fought in well-honed and synchronized movements, they soon learned that Vanitas' body prevented him to do the same. His actions were closer to how Sora would react, yet his intention and blatant way he threw himself into fights were entirely him. When he slashed wide Max or Caelum would always have to rear back further out of range or stumbled away when he cast an unfamiliar spell. After each time, he would half-heartedly apologize as Orion snorted in his ear.

For what seemed like an hour they traversed the castle, using elevators to get to different parts of the building. Vanitas was certain it was one puzzle maze made to drive intruders insane. He was sure they were going in circles, but Arty seemed to know where they were heading. However, there were moments where they would go down one corridor or elevator to find blocks in their path with no way to get around them. She was forced to double back and she would find another router for them to take.

When they took an elevator that took them into underground corridor or sewer system Vanitas was doubting her only a tiny bit.

"Are the blocks preventing you from finding your way?" he asked, jogging to catch up to her.

Her hands, which were clenched around the front of her satchel strap, was an indicator to her mood.

"I'm not going to lie," Arty said, her jaw locked, "that Ansem the Wise's castle makes much sense. The first time I explored I got lost and Riku had to come find me. It's a hassle to get through this place on a regular day, but all these blocks just makes things so much harder than it needs to be."

"We'll find our way eventually," Caelum reassured her. He paused to examine their surroundings and what paths were open to them. The waterway system was odd despite how it was entirely normal in Radiant Garden. Water was as much a part of the world like all the gardens were. To find it as an integral part of a large establishment like the castle wasn't surprising as it flowed through the proper channels pure and clear. "So where do we go from here? Are you using your map to figure out your way around it?"

"I think we should go that way," said Max, pointing further into the underground maze.

"Perhaps not. That way leads to a dead end," Orion said. He flew over to Arty, bobbing slowly next to her as she opened her laptop to peruse the map. The other boys crowded around her to get a better look.

Vanitas remained where he was choosing to scan his map. Unlike his friends, he had an internal map he could open with a menu. He tapped through it to bring up a bigger map when there was a distinct sound. Wrinkling his brow, he tried to locate what it was and what it could be. That was when he spotted a troupe of Soldiers meander into an archway and heavy breathing.

"No, oh no," someone-a high alto that sounded familiar-chanted in desperation. "Get away from me!"

Their cry brought him to action. He closed his menus as quickly as he could, then ran to the archway. Rounding into it, he was confronted with the Heartless crowding the far left corner of the bare tiled room. There were so many of them there it was impossible to see who they were after. The person in distress gave another high keen cry and it spurned him into action.

He used a _Magnera_ to draw them away from the poor victim, the magnetic ball in the air pulling them off them. While they were in the air, he raked his Keyblade's teeth at their vulnerable spots when they circled around to him. As the spell ended, only three Soldiers remained. However, there were several more Heartless that appeared-some of which were the armored Shields and the damned Wizards that Arty had trouble with. He cursed, rolling beneath a lobbed fireball to come up behind the nearest Shield.

"Arun? Hey, leave him alone!" Max shouted. He let loose a war cry as he entered the fray as well. Behind him, Vanitas heard Caelum shout a spell to help them as Arty appeared in the room, swinging her blade at the Wizards once again.

The four of them made the battle effortless. Vanitas and Caelum worked together to get rid of the bulky Shields after the latter dealt with the infuriating Soldiers. While Vanitas distracted them, drawing their attention off their vulnerable backs, Caelum would throw _Blizzaga_ shards to pierce straight through them. Whenever they tried to face Caelum instead, that left them open to Vanitas' tender mercies. Max also aided Arty as he used his shield to block all of the spells that were thrown her way as she switched between her bow and rapier, closing the gap between the Wizards and getting away when they teleported too close.

This attack strategy worked well enough to decimate their Heartless foes from five to two and, finally down to one. It didn't last long enough to remain by itself as Caelum used a _Thundaga_ to strike it down.

The Heartless fading at the final spell, Vanitas was able to relax his stance. That fight was much more difficult than he thought it would be. Even with his friends joining the fight in the middle of it, he found it difficult. His level had increased as a result bringing him to a nice level twenty.

"What have I told you about going off on your own?" Caelum said, scolding. He finished healing Max's gash and crossed the room, a vicious look on his face. "I don't care if the body you're in isn't real. You're useless to us if you're trapped out in the real world with no way to rescue us."

"Don't complain to me about that," he said, putting a hand on his hip to keep it from punching him. "And I didn't run off without any reason. I thought I heard something and the Heartless were acting weird."

"You think I'm going to buy your excuses?"

"You're an idiot if you don't."

Abrupt laughter behind Vanitas halted their shouting match. Just the way it sounded told him who was the culprit. However, over Caelum's shoulder, he spotted Arty staring in disbelief in his direction and her jaw dropped in surprise. He turned around and was inclined to do the same.

"I-I'm sorry," said a girl-a fourteen year old girl who looked exactly like how Vanitas remembered her from a year ago. She had her hand pressed to her mouth to smother her grin. "I'm so happy that the way you two act is still the same. I never thought you two would be like this again after...everything that happened."

"Whoa...Whoa." Max got off the ground, wildly glancing between the two girls. "There's a data version of you here! I didn't know that could happen."

"You think I knew either?" Arty started to pant heavily in the same way Vanitas had heard before. She hunched on her feet and slipped her hands into her hair. "But it makes sense since I was a major part in what happened on this world. I thought it would have been impossible to run into me here!"

"You're serious? That's you?" Vanitas questioned.

"Yeah, I'm the data version of the one you know as Arty," the Data Arty replied, straightening her white T-shirt and tan shorts. "Although, at the same time I am not only that."

"Are you more than a data copy?" asked Caelum, alarmed.

"How should I say this? I am, ah, a physical representation of one of the journal's features. You've met Riku, haven't you?" They confirmed they had. "Then you know Riku-or the data copy that exists in this journal-was picked to hold the journal's data. However, the people who tried to fix the journal initially decided that should something happen there should be a way to restore the data before it was tampered with."

"You're the backup feature?" Arty recovered herself and adjusted her hairpinds. Her face and neck were had a sunburned shade to them. "Wait, so the journal felt that if Riku was tampered with, I should be the one to fix him?"

"Before our fight with him, you were the only one who made him feel normal in this situation. He trusts us."

"Would you mind catching the rest of us up to speed?" Vanitas asked impatiently. "What's backup feature?"

"It's a feature on computers that lets you restore data to before it was corrupted or if you lost data," said Max unexpectedly. "It's got restore points so that you don't lose something important like accidentally deleting a system drive or to before it was infected by a virus. I had to use it when I deleted the drive to an internet feature on my laptop."

"So if Riku was chosen to physically represent Jiminy's journal," said Caelum aloud to piece things together, "then it also chose Arty to activate a restore point for him to return to before he was hurt?"

"You've got it. That's what I can do," Data Arty said cheerful. "When you decided to digitize the journal and Riku was given administration control I was given control over the back-up. I made a password so that I'm the only one who can access it. Riku was originally in Destiny Islands while I was in Traverse Town-the origin points where our real life versions appeared. Riku decided to come to my world and told me to hide myself somewhere in the event something happened to the data. We chose Hollow Bastion because it was the one place we knew well enough where I could hide."

"That explains Cid's weird comment before," Max said, snapping his fingers. He saw Vanitas' lost look and clarified. "When Sora went through Traverse Town Cid mentioned it wasn't just Huey, Dewey, and Louie who had gone missing. He said Arty was gone, too. Because of everything, we didn't think about it."

"That means you were here the whole time," Caelum said solemn. He looked as if he wanted to say more but he hadn't.

"I was." Her brow furrowed and her hand went to play with her bracelet. "Something has happened to Riku, hasn't it?"

"Afraid so." Vanitas quickly relayed the situation to her about Riku's kidnapping and Sora and Xion's dedication to rescue him. At the end she looked ready to burst into tears.

"I knew it. Of course Maleficent was the one to get him. She always tries to ruin everything." She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. "Why can't she leave us alone? Hasn't she done enough to make our lives miserable? I wish I had done something more to help."

"Don't you dare!" Arty pushed past the boys and placed her hands on her data self's shoulders. The latter dropped her hands at the rough contact. "You listen to me. What Maleficent did wasn't our fault. We thought we could trust her because she promised she would bring back Arun. We know better now because we won't do anything to lose the friends we have again. You want to help? Then suck up those tears and help us get Riku back."

The data Arty was gobsmacked by the real and mature version one scolding her. She helplessly sought Vanitas out as she prone to do in social situations she didn't understand. He returned it helplessly. Forced to fight for herself, she screwed her eyes shut.

"O-Okay. You're right. I can't cry because-because that would mean I gave up. I'm not going to give up on Riku, so I won't cry."

"Atta girl."

"Did we just watch Arty give herself a pep talk?" Max asked, baffled by the two.

"Why would you think that's weird when we run into doppelganger's everywhere? This is pretty normal in comparison," Caelum said, taking it all in stride.

"When you put it that way I can't help but think I see your point."

"Not that I don't enjoy seeing Lady Arty be herself again, but we should really move on," Orion proclaimed, weaving over their heads in a flurry. "In case you haven't noticed we still need to locate Sora and Xion before they get in trouble."

Everyone looked to Vanitas for a translation, which he provided. Arty had the decency to blush when he finished.

"Right, sorry. Got distracted." Smoothing her hair, she suddenly examined their surroundings. "Hang on. I think I know this room. I'm not really remembering…."

"That's right! I forgot about that." She thrust her hand raised, whispering what sounded like a spell. The air became heavy, making it difficult for them to breathe. The spell lasted as long as as the ceiling seemed to cave in, a flat platform descending for their use.. Neither girls, or Orion for that matter were surprised.

Arty gave a wry smile.

"Shortcut into the castle. If I remember, we can take a couple of lifts and we'll get to the castle chapel."

"As long as we don't encounter any annoying glitches on the way, I'm fine with a shortcut." Vanitas was quickly gaining Xion's reluctance to enter glitches. The past two times had him in unlikely situations.

"It's likely we will," said Emi, as Vanitas decided to call her to differentiate between the Arty's.

"Great."

As Vanitas grumbled about it, they climbed onto the platform and were ascended to another level. Then, their trek resumed to hopefully find their friends well.


	17. Doubleteam

Chapter 17

The number of lifts in Hollow Bastion castle was a staggering number, Vanitas thought as they continued through the corridors. It was logical for Ansem the Wise to add elevators to give others living in the castle an easier mode of travel. However, the fact everyone had to remember which lift led to which corridor and part of the castle made the whole thing a moot point.

"I don't understand this place at all," Max bemoaned as he scratched his head. "I thought that lift would take us up and down instead of sideways. What's even the point to that?"

"I explored this place. That doesn't mean I have to justify the castle's construction," Arty said, stepping off the lift. Emi was behind her acting as if this whole mess was normal.

"You'd probably have more information on that than me," said Emi.

On the other side of the corridor where they had entered the two girls discussed where they should go. Vanitas was doing his best to try to not stare, yet it was quite a sight. Comparing Arty to her younger data self made it clear how much she had changed both physically and mentally. Emi was exactly as he remembered her a year ago except there was a demure aura around her as she wore her grief like a cloak. The wound he left with his death was fresh. She looked sick and pale-a shadow of the bright girl he had befriended. Arty had grown since then, casting her grief aside to continue onward despite her insistence to cling to it.

In a way he was glad she had grown but it made him yearn for simpler times.

Caelum cleared his throat and had a dark gleam as he scowled. Vanitas was staring at the two for far too long.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the other archway. They grabbed for their weapons, but didn't expect to see Donald and Goofy come in. Sora and Xion also trailed behind, grinding to a halt.

"You guys made it," said Goofy, a relieved laugh escaping him.

"Where have you been? We looked everywhere for you." Donald jabbed his ready to cast ill-tempered spell until the faced Arty and Emi. He cried out in surprise. "Why are there two of you now?

"Wow, that's amazing!" Sora exclaimed. "Where'd she come from?"

"I was here this whole time," Emi said. "I'm this world's Arty. Riku told me a lot about you, Sora."

"She'll be able to help Riku if Maleficent and Pete did anything to him," Arty said.

Donald and Goofy were still lost, so they took a moment to catch them upon this recent development.

"So you can help him? If there's anything wrong with him-" Sora said, hope blooming in his eyes.

"I can definitely fix it," Emi said. "After all, Riku's my friend too. I can't—" She shook her head. "No, I won't leave him behind."

He smiled and shoved his shaking hands in his trouser pockets.

"It's great you found a way to help Riku," said Xion as she walked to Vanitas' side. "Sora was worried the entire time on our way here."

"Why wouldn't he be worried ? Speaking of which..." Vanitas scowled at her folding his arms like a disappointed parent. "You had me worried too ya know. You and Sora shouldn't have run off like that. We thought something terrible would happen to you."

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be." Orion flew over to her and dive bombed her head. "After that sentimental speech the User gave in Agrabah, you cannot simply take them for granted. He has wasted more than enough time on caring about your well being."

"Guess it must really mean something when even Orion's mad at you," said Caelum, bemused.

"Mean what?"

"Arun really cares about what happens to you," Max said, throwing some pity to her. "You guys might have spent a short time together, but he wants you to be safe. When you pulled that stunt he was worried."

"You shouldn't take what I say for granted. I only make them to people I think could be a friend." The more that he fought alongside Xion and had her confide in him, the more his initial suspicion faded. Yes, there were several mysteries surrounding her, yet the way she acted was genuine. She wouldn't willingly betray him.

She looked to them all, and her doubtful expression relaxed.

"I'll keep that in mind. Besides," she added, "I don't think I'll be running off without you anytime soon. Fighting Heartless in close combat by myself is tough."

"Now you know what I've had to go through."

Xion shrugged, brushing her hair back.

Their party reunited once again they headed through the only other archway they had yet to explore. Down the hall they went until they came outside to a section lower in the castle's main foundation. Near the edge where there was no railing save for a laser fence was one of the star-shaped crystal switches. Behind that was a huge lift that could fit twenty or so people with room to spare and had a barred top to prevent any unfortunate accidents. Emi hit the switch. The fence on both the lift and the railing turned off allowing them to board. Then, they reactivated and moved sideways across the maw.

No sooner did it move, several tendrils of darkness swirled into existence. Out dropped a dozen Soldiers and the bird creature from before.

"Son of a- "Vanitas was cut off as the Wyvern dive bombed him, its claws drawing too close to their faces for comfort. They all ducked an instinct, then they got back on their feet to try and disperse the hoarde before they were overwhelmed.

Everyone separated into their own little groups to deal away with them. Vanitas instinctively teamed up with Calum and Max to deal away them while Donald and Goofy went to Sora to protect him. It was Arty that surprised all of them as she stuck close to Sora; her bow and arrows were a boon against the dreaded Wyverns that swooped down on them on occasion. Whenever they tried to draw close, she shot her arrows at their soft skin hidden beneath the wings to get them out of the air. Xion, as always, moved herself between the two groups taking out the Heartless and covering their backs when they needed it.

They quickly dispatched them without any issues. However, just as Max slammed his shield against the last standing soldier Heartless, more emerged out of the digitized portals. To Vanitas' eternal vexation, Wizards appeared alongside Shield types.

"I hate my life!" Arty yelled, transforming her bow into a blade to take a shot at stabbing the damn wizard that teleported at her side. She threw out a _Blizzaga_ spell to fizzle out the _Firaga_ it threw out before it reached Sora. "Remind me again why we chose to go this way?"

"Because this was the only way forward," Emi replied. She gasped as Xion pushed her aside to take a dog-faced shield to her body. She slammed against the cage bars, groaning.

"I can't believe we gotta go through this again," Donald shouted incoherently. He whacked the nearest Shield at its exposed back before letting lose a controlled electrical storm.

"What do you mean again? Vanitas asked as he slid behind Max to cover him when one of the other shields used a _Firaga_ spell that its dog-faced namesake vomited out. "Are you telling me you knew this would happen?"

"We didn't really know this would happen," Goofy justified.

"Besides, Arty went through this too." Donald jabbed his staff in her direction only to accidentally smite the spot to her right. The area was ablaze and licked at her side.

She patted her hand on her shirt hem to put it out. "Knock it off, Donald! You don't have a year's worth of memories to block off like I do!"

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Just do something about these guys," Caelum said to stall the inevitable screaming match they would surely endure.

They clamped their mouths shut, glaring daggers at one another across the distance. Even that was interrupted as a Wizard teleported between them.

Vanitas became preoccupied his single-minded focus to destroy the Wizard. He used what little attack commands he had equipped as he reasoned that magic would be uneffective against it. The single spell he had on was saved for the Shields as it did remarkable damage. He managed to zap one out of existence when he heard Sora shout for Donald and Goofy. He turned to see the trio press up against each other back-to-back bearing no opening. Light gathered in their hands-even in Sora's-and they shot beams of light that spun and struck the Heartless. Around them were billows of dark smoke as all the Heartless were eliminated.

Their combined efforts brought an end to the Heartless ambush and they were free to exit the lift once it came to a stop and brought them to the bronze side of the Heartless symbol. They couldn't get off any sooner.

"That was intense," Max said, panting heavily as he dropped to it.

"It could've gone better," Jiminy agreed where he had taken refuge inside Sora's hood like Orion did with Vanitas. "But we all made it out."

Weak affirmations were given. All were too tired to give anything else, taking a breather.

"I'm glad I have you guys," said Sora, subdued.

"A-hyuck, where did that come from?" Goofy asked, looking up from where he was checking his shield for dents.

"It's weird," he laughed. "When I'm with you guys, especially Goofy and Donald, I feel like I can do anything. Don't laugh but, well, it almost feels like we've done this before."

"Well that right there is a sign you've found true friends," said Donald cheerful in his response.

"It's kinda funny to make the same friend twice." Goofy shared a knowing look to Donald as if there was a private joke. Vanitas could understand why none but those two understood the meaning. He thought about it before, but those three were closer than traveling companions could get. Only bonds forged through trust and battle could create one like that.

"Guys, it's time to get serious," Arty said, bemused by their antics.

"Yes, we're close to where Riku should be," Emi added.

"Where exactly are we going? "Xion asked as they got up to continue forward. "The Great Hall," the Artys said simultaneously

"It's where I, uh, built the Keyhole to this world, " Arty readjusted her hairpins

and was unable to meet any of their eyes. "Maleficent also used it as a place to hold the Princesses of Heart."

"She likes to be symbolic in an ironic kind of way," said Emi, fiddling with her own bracelet.

"And that's where we're headed," Sora declared as the de-facto leader despite how he didn't have a Keyblade. Because they didn't have any other option, they went off to head for it.

The way to the Great Hall was a staircase. they could see above their heads. They had to go through a convoluted way of getting there as it involved manipulating the blocks that suspiciously had the Heartless emblem on it. Of course it wasn't easy to get there what with blocks by the dozens in their way. They formed walls and barricades with one breakable block the single way in. They had to cautiously make their way in as Donald and Goofy covered for Sora in the front and the rest behind him.

It took an exceedingly long time to get there, but they made it to the stairway and rounded the tower it was built on where an engraved door awaited. It contained a stone-like chapel area, the windows built high above and made the room dim. Off to the right was another door locked up tight. It was easy enough to tap its lock, clicking softly for their entry. He tried pulling on the door handle to find it was too heavy for him to open alone and he called for Caelum to help him.

Vanitas and Caelum shoved their shoulders on the Great Hall's door. They hit the walls in a resounding force, ringing in their ears. They rushed in, racing towards the double staircase at the back of the long room. It was as extravagant as Vanitas believed it to be, a lush carpet spread on the lower level and pillars against the walls. This was a room where a king would hold court. However, climbing the stairs and reaching the top, that wasn't the case.

The second floor was a complete mess. On the back wall was an amalgamation of giant pipes and wires connected to a strange mechanical chassis a story tall. Energy thrummed inside it mixing to create new colors. Before it, as expected, stood Pete with a tool kit at his side as he messed around with it. Their spectacular entrance hadn't gone unnoticed.

"We've got you now Pete!" Sora jabbed a finger at him like he held a blade instead.

"Couldn't do a thing by yourself you went cryin' to your pals eh?" Pete scowled. "Well it won't do you a lick of good."

He snapped his fingers. On command, like a pack of rabid dogs on the hunt, the Heartless came. To Vanitas' dismay they were the more annoying types as well like the Wizards and Large Bodies. Without need for anymore instructions they attacked.

The group braced themselves. Vanitas, Goofy, and Max pushed their way forward and used their shields and Keyblade to keep them at bay while the mages, Arty, and Emi kept back to pick them off. Xion switched between the two as she chose to use magic whenever she had the opportunity to.

Vanitas battled between the Wizard and the Shield. He rolled whenever he heard the tell tale alert that lightning was about to strike or the chill that came from an impending snow crystal to freeze them. He was so busy in his attempt to get behind the Shield he didn't notice there was a wall of blocks ready to rain down on them until he saw the black blur sailing past.

"Sora!"

"Look out!"

He whipped his head to Sora's general location where he remained out of the fight but was also unprotected. He took one jerky step to the right, then froze as the blocks drew close. There was no possible escape for him.

Suddenly, quick as a whip, Donald and Goofy threw themselves in the trajectory path. They had little time to react when the blocks seized upon them and caught them in an embrace that was difficult to shake off.

"Dad, hold on!" Max threw his shield to destroy the blocks to release him. Blocks popped up to take the hit and the shield bounced back. "No fair, Pete. Let my dad and Donald go now!"

His demands went unheard as Pete let loose a boisterous laugh.

"What a pair of rubes. Why risk your necks for a lump of data? Oh yeah," he said to their startlement. "I know all about this phony. Youse guys made him just like that phony Keyblade he's got. And I know about this one here too!"

One of the Heartless broke out of the hoarde carrying Emi at their side like a football. She pounded her fists and kicked her legs viciously. It strode to Pete's side.

"Release me, you useless lackey!" Emi said as she wriggled and panted in her struggle for freedom.

"Figures that you'd get picked as backup data," said Pete. He flicked his fingers at her forehead. "And with this pipsqueak in hand ya schmucks can't do nothing to stop us! It's all thanks to ya relyin' on a bunch of fakes."

"Don't you ever talk about Sora or Arty like that," Donald said. His rage made it impossible to understand some of the words he threw out as Vanitas mentally raced to figure out how to save Emi.

He heard Pete reply, "Maybe on the outside, but they're just empty shells. Neither of'em don't got a heart."

"Sora's got more heart than you," said Vanitas. The thought that Pete had the gall to criticize someone's heart, or lack thereof, was ridiculous. "It doesn't matter what someone's made of. Sora, Xion, and Arty could be shells or they're replicas. They were based off people whose hearts are large enough to share. They are who they are, and that won't change."

"We've got their hearts," Goofy agreed.

Donald nodded. "You'd see it too if you were looking. Why would they keeping fighting for us-no matter the danger, no matter how hard things get-if they didn't care?"

Caelum, Arty, and Max joined in crying the same sentiments on the matter. As their voices rose, headed and overlapping in their protests, Sora and Xion's faces lit up. Vanitas could understand how amazing it felt for others to come to their defense as if someone had saved them from drowning.

"Sora's in our hearts as much as we're in his," was Goofy's last word. "Our friend is our power!"

Sora's lip trembled and he blinked to keep the unshed tears at bay.

"We're connected," he said, a hand over his heart. It curled to imprint their words.

"Aw, can your mush," said Pete, gagging. "Youse guys are finished. Let's see your power protect you from this!"

He snapped his fingers. Goofy and Donald screamed as the blocks started to crush them again. The others moved to try and free them when Emi screamed as well. Vanitas' heart could have stopped at the sight as she dangled by her arm, the Large Body holding her like a toy, and had a Neoshadow's claw resting on her chest. Her terror was open on her face that was identical to the last image he saw of Arty upon sacrificing himself for her sake.

"Don't think about helpin' them or your backup is as good as gone." Pete wagged his finger at them.

"What do we do?" Caelum asked softly for their ears alone. "We need Arty's backup to return home."

"We're not letting my dad get crushed," Max said venomously.

"Just leave me! Save Donald and Goofy," Emi pleaded even as her voice cracked. "I'm not letting Pete or Maleficent win." Arty's fingers twitched on the drawstring

itching to shoot.

"But Donald and Goofy need us!" Sora's heel started to bounce in his nervous

energy. It became frenzied as their screams became hoarse and he wildly looked to the others for guidance.

Vanitas didn't know what they had to do either as he debated. He may not have felt much towards Mickey's loyal subjects;he did know that Goofy was Max's only parent. The death scare a few weeks ago had made them cautious as Max was paranoid he would lose his father permanently during an adventure. But what about Emi? He couldn't leave her. She was not only a way for them to return home, but she was Arty. A data version, sure, but at her core she was his friend. She would always remain his first priority.

The longer they stalled the more it felt like someone was about to break the thin string of tension keeping them at bay.

Sora and Xion suddenly broke off from the group. Sora dashed to the blocks as Xion charged straight for Emi and Pete. There were twin flashes at their hands. Vanitas had his eyes fixed on Xion, watching but unable to process, when she had her blade in hand. She went after the Neoshadow first. She swung her blade, but the Heartless had its free hand whip out to strike her. It must not have been fast enough, because the Keyblade sank deep into its flesh.

Fading to wisps, Xion switched her target to the Large Body. The Heartless was too slow and couldn't catch her in time when she got behind its vulnerable back to have it join its friend.

"Thank the Light," Caelum said, heaving a shaky relieved breath. Vanitas was tempted to do the same but held it.

"What's the big idea?" Pete whipped his head between Xion leading Emi back to safety and Sora wielding a Keyblade again, Donald and Goofy freed. He stomped one foot like an overgrown child throwing a tantrum. "I saw Maleficent destroy that thing! How'd you get it back?"

"Sora, you're just full of surprises." Mickey made his appearance as he ran up the stairs unscathed from the castle's dangers.

"Where have you been?" Vanitas asked resentfully. Mickey had gone on ahead and they still had managed to beat him there. What a useless king.

His sentiments were well founded as he shrugged apologetically.

"I, uh, got lost," he said. "Anyway, it looks like something's changed about you Sora. The Keyblade takes its power from the wielder's strength of heart. But an old friend of mine once said, 'A heart is so much more than a system.' We gave you the Keyblade as data and never expected it to match the real thing's power. But during your journey, you made a connection with us." He threw out his arms to gesture out the world. "You've risen above the system, Sora, and gained power unlike anybody else's. That's what brought your Keyblade back."

"Rising above the system..." Orion's soft voice was a tickle in Vanitas' ear. It was difficult to tell how he felt, but he was certain it was no longer monotone.

"It ain't fair!" Pete shouted, infuriated. "Sproutin' a new Keyblade is cheating!"

He whirled around preparing to run off again. Only this time they were onto him. The group quickly spread out to flank him on all sides cutting off the stairs with weapons drawn. Emi and Vanitas especially were ready for a fight.

"Not so fast," said Caelum, a fireball forming in his hand.

"Hand over Riku or else," Sora threatened, his eyes set in a hardened glower that all of them sported.

Pete backed away under this scrutiny. His hands were up as a physical wall. "Now let's talk about this-"

The castle abruptly shook and cut off his begging. The force was enough to turn their knees to jelly, and some of them couldn't hold onto their balance or weapons.

"A program has been activated!" Orion exclaimed, gripping Vanitas' hair in a pinched hand. "A Keyhole has been found!"

As he said this, it appeared in the center of the metal chassis-a beacon for others to find and follow.

Pete glanced between them and the Keyhole, then grinned.

"So long, chumps!" he laughed as he jumped to the metal machine. He touched it and disappeared into a datastream.

"No, we lost him!" Sora shouted.

"But we found the Keyhole," said Goofy to placate him.

"Yeah, let's head inside." Donald and the others started to make their way to it, yet Sora stopped them.

"Leave this one to me," he said. "I never would have made it here without anyone. It's my turn to do the same for you. Let me be your light, and I'll show you the way home."

At the dramatic speech Vanitas couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You don't have to act like the only hero here." He came to stand beside him and patted his shoulder. "I've been saying this since I got here. I'm going to help my friends get out. Our goals are the same, so there's no way I'm going to let you do all the work."

"And if Van's going, so am I," said Xion, stepping up to Sora's other side. "Even though you have your Keyblade again, I'll always be here with you to fight. You're not going anywhere on your own."

"That's right. You don't have to do this alone, Sora," said Mickey, placing his hand on his chest. "Remember that you're part of a team. When you get hurt it hurts us too."

"How could I forget?" Sora smiled, touched at the heartfelt sentiments as their encouragement brightened it. "Arty, if I get Riku back, you'll be able to reverse any damage Pete did on him, right?"

"Of course," said Emi instead of Arty as the boy had his eyes on the data version. "I know this is asking a lot from you, Arun and Xion. Please..." She took a deep breath as her voice wavered. "Please come back safe with Riku."

"We will," Vanitas said as he went to ruffle her hair. She tensed at the touch. "You got nothing to worry about. Caelum, Max, look after these two for me, will ya?"

"Who do you take me for? I'm not you." Caelum scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. He stopped when Max nudged his shoulder with his own.

"Sure thing, Arun."

Vanitas, knowing his friend and her data version were in safe hands, went to the Keyhole. Suddenly he felt arms wrap around his waist and something pressed between his shoulder blades.

"Be careful, okay?" Arty whispered, her breath tickling his neck. He shivered and had to fight every instinct from throwing her off him. He slipped away, his back to her, as he went to the Keyhole.

Without any other word he held his Keyblade up at the floating crest. Thousands of light particles dissolved the world around him until his surroundings faded beneath it. It molded into something entirely different-a round room made of greystone and the ceiling high above them. He spotted Pete as Xion, who was thankfully conscious, and Sora appeared at his side.

Pete twisted around where he was fiddling with something and groaned.

"Don't you know when to quit?"

"Do yourself a favor and come quietly," Sora said not too kindly. Like the others, he must have been as fed up with Pete's antics and had it chipped away at his patience.

"After all the times you've ruined my plans? Not likely. It's my turn to teach you a trick or three. And I got a surprise for you! Come out and say hello!" He snapped his fingers. A data cloud formed in front of him to take Riku's shape. There was something off about him, and it wasn't the bodysuit he was in. His face was screwed in anguish as he panted heavily, sweat on his brow. Sora cried out, ready to sprint to him, but Riku shook his head.

"Stay back!" he warned. Then his body jerked and twitched. He screamed, chilling Vanitas' insides.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Xion, her hands over her mouth and as pale as a Nobody Dusk's skin.

"I took the liberty of takin' his liberty away. All I had to do was load some of these bug thingies into your pally's data-matronics." Pete laughed as he placed a not-so-gentle hand on Riku's head like one would a pet. "Now let's see what my new minion can do. Your master orders you to attack!"

"Not a chance," he said through clenched teeth, ripping himself away to the best of his ability. He didn't get far. It was as if his body were on strings and his head could only roll to press his cheek to his shoulder.

"No dice, eh? Guess we need a little more juice." He snapped his fingers again, and Riku lurched forward, doubling over. Xion's cry joined his mixing in a distorted harmony.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" she shouted.

"That oughta do it. Why don't you go get reacquainted now? You handle your little buddy while I got these two schmucks."

That was their only warning as Pete shifted into a position like a quarterback about to smash through the other team's defenses. Then he bulldozed right through them. The three jumped apart but he caught Vanitas and Xion off guard as he specifically went after them. Pete's longer reach made it possible for him to grab Vanitas' arm and throw him at a wall. He didn't register what happened until the impact, a sharp jolt hitting the middle of his back that spread. He landed on his side, his entire back throbbing, and groaned at the distinct hit his HP took.

As he struggled to get his bearings together, he heard Sora call his name and tried to assist him. He didn't get far when Riku intercepted him, swinging for his side. Sora had to stop and parry the attack, then continue as his friend struck out.

Pete laughed as he produced a violet ball the size of his head. He slipped into a position like a professional bowler would, reared the ball back, and swung his arm forward to roll it at Vanitas in an impressive speed.

"No you don't!" Xion shouted, dashing to throw herself in front of Vanitas, who scrambled to his feet and cast Curaga on himself. She used her Keyblade to hit it back. The ball ricocheted off it and went right back to Pete. They found out what the bowling did as it exploded upon touching his foot. The blast knocked him right off his feet.

Vanitas was quick to take advantage. He sprinted over to Maleficent's lackey and thrust his Keyblade's tip to carry him forward. Once he was close enough, he aimed for spots that would surely bruise. He received some vicious pleasure at the thought Pete's very real body would linger in pain that wouldn't disappear in a second. He swung at Pete's hand to possibly cripple him when, suddenly, smoke enveloped Pete. It barely cleared as a grating guffaw rang behind him.

"Think that'll stop me? Right behind ya!" Pete mocked.

Vanitas twisted around as he threw what looked like sticks of dynamite everywhere and vanished from his spot again. The sticks went off without hitting the ground, loud cracks sparking them in a frenzy. Vanitas was lucky to not have been around them, but Sora gasped as one of the sticks went off near him. The smoke got in his eyes and caused them to water. He raised a hand to furiously wipe at his face. However, Riku snuck up behind him and lashed out while he was blinded, and Sora was forced to wildly swing to block the strikes.

Xion, as well, was unfortunate to be caught in the attack and was blinded. She whimpered, standing still to rub at her eyes. Vanitas spotted Pete raise a fist behind her, and he moved. It took several quick steps to come up beside her. He shoved at her shoulder with his own when Pete's fist attempted to smash into his face. Raising his Keyblade to shield himself, Pete continued to pound into the handguard, then leapt up with both fists raised. Vanitas rolled backwards as they slammed into the ground, a shockwave vibrating through their legs.

Suddenly, something landed to his left and brushed against his arm, tearing straight into it. He yelped, backing away from whatever it was, and was startled that it was one of the orange blocks that had caused it. It was one that he knew would damage him if he ever touched it. Several of them were littered across the room making it difficult to move around. Both Sora and Xion ran straight into them as well. Vanitas wondered how they appeared in the first place, but thought nothing more of it as he healed everyone back to full health.

Thankfully the blocks didn't stick around for long, and gave them the chance to retaliate. Vanitas drew close to Xion and briefly touched her shoulder.

"You're with me. We need to take down Pete," he said.

"Got it. Let's go!" She didn't need any other prompt to take down that annoying lackey. She scanned the room for him spotting him in the corner of the room launching another deathly bowling ball their way. Vanitas shoved his way in front of her to deflect it straight back. It exploded against Pete once again giving her time to use a _Blizzaga_ spell to freeze half his right leg to the floor. He wobbled to stay standing, but Vanitas was ready to strike the shards into his limb. Then, he backed off as Pete's flailing fist came close to colliding with his face.

Together the two of them double teamed against Pete to try and take him down as quickly as they could. They were fortunate that their opponent couldn't get it through his thick skull that his attacks weren't working against them. He repeatedly used his bowling ball trick in hopes that it would work. However, Vanitas and Xion were swift in switching who was on the defensive and offensive blocking to cover the attacking partner. Most of the time it was Vanitas who was defending Xion as her _Thundaga_ s pell did remarkable damage.

Every so often, they would stumble into Sora's path where he was trying to deal with Riku. Vanitas took a look at Riku's HP and saw that there was no real need for them to interfere; Sora seemed to be doing just fine on his own. The most that they could do was heal Sora whenever he needed it or interrupt Riku's strikes to give Sora room to breathe. They also realized that Riku was solely bent on fighting Sora only and largely ignored them unless they tried to willingly attack him. Vanitas found that out the hard way.

For all the advantage that they had on Pete they were still at a loss on how to deal with him properly. Pete had the habit of dropping those damage blocks to ruin their formation and would use dust to vanish across the room. Not only that whenever he used his firecrackers they would have to tiptoe around them to avoid being blinded. All the teleporting around as well as the status effect made it one of the more frustrating moments they had to deal with in a battle.

Out of the corner of his eye, briefly checking on Sora's status in the fight, Vanitas saw that Riku had fallen to one knee looking all for the worlds like he was going to faint then and there. However, numbers covered his body and briefly took out of sight; fading away, Riku was back on his feet without a sign he had been exhausted seconds ago. With the energy he did not have before he slashed overhead at Sora, who was caught off guard by his sudden recovery.

Xion beat Riku to Sora. She placed herself between them to catch his blade with her own. Riku didn't let that deter him. He vanished for a moment before reappearing above their heads. Vanitas opened his mouth to warn them, but it was too late. He plunged the sword straight into the marble only for blocks like the ones Pete could summon to appear. They had a wide range. Sora and Xion were too close to properly dodge them, but Vanitas managed to for the simple fact he was placed in their gap.

Vanitas brought his attention back to Pete located a few feet away. He decided against closing the distance and fired a _Thundaga_ to try and stun him. Then, he activated the _Zantetsuken_ command. The single slash both accomplished to cross the room but also did massive damage to him.

"D'oh, you gotta lot of nerve!" Pete hissed, nursing his smarting side. He used another bowling ball towards him. Vanitas hit it right back as Xion slid back to his side, firing off a magic spell of her own. Electricity discharged around her, bouncing off surfaces and metals to zap him. It electrocuted Pete as it knocked him on his back.

"Alright that does it! I had it with you twerps," Pete said, rolling onto his hands and knees to stand. He had an unsettling grin as he threw his arms wide. "Let's see how you deal with this!" Traces of electricity bounced off his frame until it entirely melted into a yolk colored orb, arcs crackling off its surface. It sped too fast for them for Vanitas to catch. He was spooked by the moving lightning and ran in the other direction hoping it wouldn't catch him. Rushing through the enclosed room, he passed Sora.

He didn't expect for it to close in on Sora and zap him as he attempted to escape Riku's wrath. He dropped his Keyblade, his already spiky hair standing on end. He could do nothing against Riku's block attack that slammed right into him.

Vanita stopped paying attention once Pete returned to his normal form standing closer to him than he expected. Pete's massive fist swung and he ducked beneath his arm. His next swing went right for Xion. She stood her ground and blocked his remaining punches but was done in when he summoned more blocks.

While she was left reeling, Pete hurled another ball at Vanitas. This time he remained firm and hit it back. Hw went to deal in a couple of hits when it stunned him. Pete took a few hits, then swiftly turned back into the lightning orb forcing Vanitas, Xion, and Sora to keep out of its way. It worked for all of five seconds; everything that happened afterwards was nothing but getting electrocuted and being used as a training dummy for Riku to beat to death.

Vanitas soon had enough and called for a regroup. He took refuge at the farthest wall away from their foes. His companions listened.

"Alright, this is a lot worse than I thought it would be," said Vanitas, casting Curaga on his exhausted party members.

"You think?" Xion hissed, wincing as she shook out her hand. He ignored her in favor of coming up with a plan as always.

"Xion, you're no help to us right now since you can't hit either Pete or Riku with your magic."

"Oh thanks!"

"In that case," he continued as if she hadn't interrupted him, "you're on block and healing duty. Sora and I will handle these two."

Neither of them had a chance to protest the plan. Riku was back in action and he attacked Sora. Vanitas, with renewed vigor, got between the two. He batted Riku's wing-like sword away from its thrust at Sora's arm. He summoned a powerful wind to knock him off balance. Sora followed up and slammed his handguard against Riku's chest hard enough to crack his ribs. Leaving the two to battle again, Vanitas turned his sights on Pete.

The boys did their utmost best to end the battle as quickly as possible. If it weren't for Pete's cowardly tactics, Vanitas could have ended his battle with him by that point. Oh no, instead he had to struggle for what seemed like a century to land a hit on Pete as he teleported around the battlefield. More times than he could count, he had to end his strikes prematurely because that coward couldn't take a hit! It also didn't help he threw those exploding bowling balls without any regard. On one occasion he had to knock Sora aside before the explosive hit him.

As this went on, Xion flitted out of peripheral vsion to destroy the harmful boxes. Whenever Pete or Riku summoned them she cast a wide sweeping magic spell that obliterated them without much effort. On occasion she also threw a Potion at either Vanitas or Sora after a particularly hard hit. More often than not, she found herself free to do as she pleased regardless of Vanitas' instructions. She used this time to aid Sora, as he saw when she let loose a volley of Firaga and Blizzaga spells to deter Riku's maniac attacks. As he was preoccupied in his own fight, he hadn't realized that their combined strength was enough to bring Riku down until his guttural scream echoed through the chamber.

He paused and whipped his head to the right. Riku had landed on his back and appeared for all the world defeated. Yet, numbers snaked up his suit constricting him so tight his image crackled. He reappeared back on his feet to fight once again.

"Riku, stop! Please, you're hurting yourself! You've got to fight it!" Sora shouted desperate to reach through to his friend. It didn't work.

Suddenly, he raised his blade-tip pointed straight to the heavens-as if to summon lightning. That didn't appear to be his intention as darkness cloaked him, then he vanished. Vanitas was only able to register this when someone smashed into his side. It cut him right into his code. He caught a blur to his left as he witnessed a silver and dark figure cut through Xion's side, then again at Sora.

 _He's fast!_ Vanitas thought. He held his Keyblade to guard against these attacks. Somehow, the darkness had exponentially raised Riku's speed enough for him to teleport in half a second! Each slash did nothing on their own until they stacked enough damage to take them all out. He concentrated on surviving the onslaught and ignored Sora and Xion's pained screams. Pete's scream joined their's as Riku struck him as well. Vanitas was happy all the same to receive help in eliminating Pete as quickly as they could. It was a shame he hadn't thought to use Riku to aid them any sooner.

When it ended there was a moment's pause as they attempted to gather themselves once again. That was a devastating attack that none wanted a repeat of. Not even Riku himself went unscathed. His exhausted stance spoke of the toll it had on him.

Pete was the first to recover. As he shook off his pain, he prepped his insufferable bowling ball attack. Vanitas had enough of that. He slid his foot back in preparation of his own devastating move. Bringing all of his focus on Pete, he kicked off his back foot and lunged, lifting his blade up in one fluid motion. His Keyblade cut through the bomb and crippled Pete's arms. While it did critical damage, it unfortunately wasn't enough to completely knock him out. Yet, just as Pete cried out, his whole body in a spastic dance writhing in pain, Riku let loose a guttural roar. Dark energy had once against enveloped him. Vanitas had enough warning to know he had to drop everything and put his guard up.

Riku, once again, was a devil on the battlefield. With little disregard to his own safety, he teleported around the area hoping to cut down everyone around him. Thanks to Vanitas' broken video game mechanic his guard deflected each strike and stab against him; each strike did, however, feel like his arms were about to fall off. Around him all he could hear was everyone cry out as Riku took them down. When he finished up his final blow, backflipping with more grace and finesse than any of them possessed, he was the last standing.

Sora and Xion struggled to their feet, but Pete remained flat on his back knocked out.

Vanitas used _Curaga_ to heal them. Shaking his head, Sora took a deep breath to calm himself. As he released it, he raised his Keyblade high to transform it into a giant gleaming sword of light. It had an almost impossible reach that all he had to do was take a few light steps and he was able to swing the blade in one powerful downblow. Riku was still cooling down from his attack and cried out, his clothes getting singed in the process. A great deal of his HP was cut through. Somehow, above all odds, he remained standing with a sliver left.

Xion fixed that. Shouting a spell, she pointed her Keyblade at him as magic built around her centered on the tip. It built there until it could no more and burst into a fiery blaze. A heat wave blasted around them. It could have seared them if not for how it had only one target. It was this that vanquished the last of Riku's health. He collapsed on the ground broken free from the strings that kept him fighting.

Vanitas was a bit skeptical about whether they were truly down for the count. He wandered over to check on their fallen forms. Just then, his vision blurred. When it cleared he found he, Xion, Sora, and Riku had been transported back to the Great Hall. Seeing Pete didn't follow, he should have been irritated. He was so close to finally giving Pete his just desserts after everything he made them go through!

"Riku!" Arty's gasp had put a stop to it. His rationality rushed to the forefront of his thoughts as he searched her out in the room. She was on her knees beside the Data Riku lying prone on the floor. Sora was there as well attempting to rouse him with no success.

"What happened?" Emi asked. She hurried over as Vanitas did the same. When she got there she gasped. Vanitas recoiled. Blocks protruded out of Riku's body like unnatural crimson and dead growths. It was a grotesque image that belonged in a horror film, not in a place like this. He wanted to turn away but he couldn't stop staring. "Oh my-How did this happen?"

"Pete put the bugs in him," Xion answered just as horrified. "He made Riku fight Sora so me and Vanitas fought him. Is he going to be okay?"

"Is there something we can do?" Max asked, hovering over Vanitas' shoulder. The rest of them kept their distance to not crowd.

"I'd be able to do something to reset him back the way he used to be," said Emi as she placed a hand on his forearm. A wrinkle formed on her brow screwed in concentration. "However, in this condition, I can't even manage it. There are too many bugs inside him that prevent me from accessing the feature in the first place. Should I activate it, there is still the event something may go wrong."

"So what are we to do?"

They received their answer in an unusual manner. Sora's Keyblade's tip emitted a soft light and drew their attention. Perplexed at his blade's behavior, he lifted it and shifted it until it was pointed at Riku. A tiny beam shot out connecting them like a thread of fate. Then, directly above the body a Keyhole outline appeared was the same shade as the thread. Sora and Vanitas exchanged a knowing look. They were more than acquainted with what to do.

"Do you think-" Sora stopped and gestured his hand to his friend.

Mickey scuffed his shoe on the floor clearly holding back his concern for Riku as well. Although he was a king, there was no doubt he was also friends with the young man.

"Well if the bugs have taken over Riku, then that means-" He couldn't bring himself to finish it, biting his tongue. "He might not ever wake up unless we get rid of the bugs."

There was a moment where no one could say anything. The grief hit them hard in various quantities. Vanitas was more concerned about his friends being trapped in the datascape forever. Glancing at Arty and Emi as they took deep breaths, their grief was much different and real.

"So if I-We debug him, he'll come back to us." Sora stood in one smooth motion. He threw his shoulders back and his head was held high. No longer did he seem like that curious, adventurous boy Vanitas had met earlier. He was closer to the battle-hardened young man who fought Xemnas to rescue his friends. "Guys, we gotta go inside to look."

"But what about you?" Donald dropped his staff and lifted his bill up at Sora.

"Who's to say if it's even safe inside Riku?" Goofy asked, his hand over his mouth.

"I know it's risky but if a friend needs me to be there, so will I help too."

"This is still an awful idea."

Caelum nudged Vanitas with his pointy elbow. "You and Xion are going in too,

aren't you?"

"Sora gave us no choice. He included us in it," said Vanitas. "You're welcome to stay, Xion. It could be dangerous in there."

"I..." Xion flicked her gaze to the Keyhole, apprehension dulling her crystal eyes. "I think I'm going to sit this one out. You and Sora are more than enough to help Riku. I'd just get in the way."

He nodded. The true reason lurked in the back of his head. She must have been afraid that she'd glitch out just as she has many times at this point.

"I hate having to put you through this, Arun, except you're the only ones with the power to do it," Arty said in apology. She fiddled with her bracelet's charm, her thumb rubbing the latch. "This is a really bad idea. Then again, Sora's got a penchant for those."

"That's him for ya," said Jiminy, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Still can't talk you out of it huh?" Donald asked almost to himself. Beside him, Goofy laughed.

"But we'll do everything we can to help you out. Right guys?"

They voiced they would. They were so close to getting out of the datascape. This was the homestretch towards going home. From the look on Sora's face, heartfelt and touched, he appreciated their support.

He raised his Keyblade. The simple motion opened the Keyhole with ease and a doorway materialized. Vanitas expected nothing more than for this to happen. Like all things in his life, that wasn't the case.

As soon as it opened, Xion screamed. Every one of his nerves were electrified and he whirled around as she crumpled to the floor.

He ran over to her, dropping to one knee, then paused, startled. Xion's entire body flickered incessantly random code appearing throughout her figure. What was happening to her?

"Hey, wake up!" he urged so she would open her eyes to give him any sign that this could be fixed. He reached down to shake her shoulder.

"Wait don't touch her!" Emi shouted in fright.

He was too late to heed her warning and laid a hand on her leather clad shoulder. That was all he got to feel when, suddenly, stabbing sensations ran up his fingertips, raced through his arm, and engulfed his body. White dots swam in his vision to cut off his sight. His sense of gravity was the next to go, and then his hearing. Everything else followed until he lost connection to the world.

How long it took for him to reconnect Vanitas couldn't tell. All he knew was that there was a single moment of a sensory overload-too bright light, a ringing in his ears, cold marble against his knees-and it settled down gradually. When he felt like himself again he stared down at a smooth white surface that seared into his eyeballs. Lifting his head, his jaw went slack.

 _No...No you're kidding me. This can't be-_

The lack of a color palette, the stretching hallways, even the absence of personality were ingrained in his nightmares. Vanitas stumbled backwards and fell on his tailbone. Why was he back in this place? This was the very place he had awakened in when he woke up in Ventus' body weeks ago. He hadn't been back since that day; it was too difficult to find out what world it was on.

Why was it here in the journal of all places?

"I'm not surprised you're the first one to get here. You have a talent for doing the impossible, don't you?"


End file.
